US pushes Europe to quit Iran nuclear deal
PENCE ACCUSES ALLIES OF TRYING TO SCUTTLE SANCTIONS
The Trump administration yesterday lashed out at some of America’s closest European allies, accusing Britain, France and Germany of trying to bust US sanctions against Iran and calling on European nations to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal.
In an unusually blunt speech to a Middle East conference in Poland, US Vice-President Mike Pence slammed the three countries and the European Union as a whole for remaining parties to the landmark 2015 agreement after President Donald Trump withdrew from it last year and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran.
France and Germany had declined to send their top diplomats to the Warsaw conference co-hosted by the US and Poland. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also stayed away. Britain, France and Germany, along with the rest of the EU, continue to support the nuclear deal as the best way to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons.
Pence was especially critical of Britain, France and Germany for unveiling a financial mechanism last month. He said the mechanism, a barter-type payment system designed to allow businesses to skirt direct financial transactions with Iran, is “an effort to break American sanctions against Iran’s murderous regime”.
Pence then called for Europe to abandon the nuclear agreement altogether. “The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and join with us as we bring the economic and diplomatic pressure necessary to give the Iranian people, the region and the world the peace security and freedom they deserve,” he said.
On his part, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Iran the top threat in the Middle East, and said confronting the country is key to reaching peace in the entire region.
“You can’t achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran. It’s just not possible,” Pompeo said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday called Iran the top threat in the Middle East, and said confronting the country is key to reaching peace in the entire region.
Pompeo, who was attending a security conference in Warsaw, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the opening session at the conference.
He said “pushing back” Iran was central to dealing with all the region’s other problems.
“You can’t achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran. It’s just not possible,” Pompeo said alongside Netanyahu.
Iran nuclear deal
On his part, US Vice President Mike Pence accused Washington’s European allies yesterday of trying to break U.S. sanctions against Tehran and called on them to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
“Sadly, some of our leading European partners have not been nearly as cooperative. In fact, they have led the effort to create mechanisms to break up our sanctions,” Pence said during a conference on the Middle East organised by the United States in Warsaw.
Pence said a scheme set up by the EU to facilitate trade with Iran was “an effort to break American sanctions against Iran’s murderous revolutionary regime”.
“It is an ill-advised step that will only strengthen Iran, weaken the EU and create still more distance between Europe and the United States,” he said.
The Americans have tried to broaden the scope of what was initially billed as an Irancentric meeting to include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fight against Daesh, and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
“No one country will dominate the discussion today nor will any one issue dominate our talks,” Pompeo said.
But he said he welcomed the dialogue since none of the region’s challenges will “solve themselves.”
“We must work together for security. No country can afford to remain on the sidelines,” Pompeo said.
President Donald Trump’s senior Mideast adviser, sonin-law Jared Kushner, has been working on an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan for close to two years, but has not yet released details.
US officials say Kushner is expected to make some comments in Warsaw about the conflict, but Netanyahu said he doesn’t expect any discussion of the peace plan.
The Palestinians have preemptively rejected it, accusing the Trump administration of being unfairly biased toward Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said yesterday that Middle East turmoil will continue unless there is a resolution to the conflict with Israel.
“There will be no peace and stability in the Middle East without a peaceful solution that leads to a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital,” he said.
What about Syria?
Pompeo addressed the conference in a closed-door session on US plans for Syria following Trump’s abrupt decision in December to withdraw American troops from the country.
That move led to the resignation of Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and caught many US allies by surprise.
No matter how the Warsaw conference concludes, the situation in Syria is more likely to be affected by another meeting under way yesterday involving the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey, each of which is deeply involved in the conflict.