EU offers no guarantees to Iran on US deal

European powers vowed to keep the 2015 nuclear deal alive without the US by trying to keep Iran’s oil and investment flowing, but admitted they would struggle to provide the guarantees Tehran seeks.

British, French and German foreign ministers, along with the EU’s top diplomat, discussed the next steps with their Iranian counterpart, a week after US President Donald Trump abandoned the pact he branded “the worst deal ever” and reimposed US sanctions on Iran.

“We all agreed that we have a relative in intensive care and we all want to get him or her out of intensive care as quickly as possible,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters after the 90-minute meeting.

She said all sides had agreed to find practical solutions over the coming weeks. Those included continuing to sell Iran’s oil and gas products, maintaining effective banking transactions and protecting European investments in Iran.

“I cannot talk about legal or economic guarantees but I can talk about serious, determined, immediate work from the European side,” Mogherini said.

‘On the right track’

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the meeting had been a good start, but he wanted to see guarantees materialise. “We are on the right track ... a lot will depend on what we can do in next few weeks,” he said. Highlighting just how difficult it will be, the US Treasury announced on Tuesday more sanctions, including on Iran’s central bank governor, just minutes before the Brussels meeting was due to begin.

Zarif said the latest US decision was “illegal”.