Pence calls on Europe to pull out of Iran deal
WARSAW, Poland — The Trump administration lashed out at some of America’s closest traditional allies Thursday, accusing Britain, France and Germany of trying to bust U.S. sanctions against Iran and calling on European nations to join the United States in withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal.
In an unusually blunt speech to a Middle East conference in Poland, 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 re-imposed tough sanctions on Iran.
The harsh criticism threatened to further chill U.S.-European ties that are already badly strained on many issues, including trade and defense spending. And it underscored the stark two-year trans-Atlantic divide over Iran that manifested itself again ahead of the Warsaw conference co-hosted by the U.S. and Poland.
France and Germany declined to send their top diplomats to the ministeriallevel meeting. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also stayed away due to concerns it would become an anti-Iran vehicle. 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.
In his earlier speech, Pence showed just how sharp that difference is.
He was harshly critical of Britain, France and Germany for unveiling a new financial mechanism last month that U.S. officials believe is intended to keep the nuclear deal alive by evading American sanctions. Pence praised other nations for complying with U.S. sanctions by reducing Iranian oil imports, but he said the Europeans fell short.
“Sadly, some of our leading European partners have not been nearly as cooperative,” Pence said. “In fact, they have led the effort to create mechanisms to break up our sanctions.”
Pence then called for Europe to abandon the nuclear agreement altogether, making explicit a demand at which Trump administration officials had previously only hinted.
Germany, Britain and France have vigorously defended the new payment system as necessary to preserve the Iran accord, under which Tehran was granted billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
They are also highly unlikely to withdraw from the agreement, a signature foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration. Their governments have repeatedly expressed support for it since Trump declared the U.S. would pull out.
The U.N.’s atomic watchdog and Trump’s own intelligence chiefs have said Iran remains in compliance with the agreement despite the U.S. withdrawal.