Europeans seek to salvage Iran deal
DISMAYED European allies sought to salvage the international nuclear pact with Iran yesterday after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the landmark accord.
“The deal is not dead. There’s an American withdrawal from the deal but the deal is still there,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had been reluctant to back the deal, said: “Mr Trump, I tell you on behalf of the Iranian people: You’ve made a mistake ... I said many times from the first day: Don’t trust America.”
Trump announced on Tuesday that he would reimpose US economic sanctions on Iran to undermine what he called “a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” which was “defective at its core.”
The fruit of more than a decade of diplomacy, the agreement was concluded in 2015 by the US, France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China and Iran. It was designed to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb in return for lifting sanctions that had crippled its economy.
Trump complained that the deal, the signature foreign policy achievement of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 or its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
Trump’s decision raises the risk of deepening conflicts in the Middle East, puts the US at odds with European diplomatic and business interests, and casts uncertainty over global oil supplies.
France’s Le Drian, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the International Atomic Energy Agency all said Iran was honouring its commitments under the accord.
“The region deserves better than further destabilization provoked by American withdrawal,” Le Drian said.
The European Union said it would remain committed to the deal and would ensure sanctions on Iran remain lifted, as long as Tehran meets its commitments.
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “deeply concerned” by the withdrawal, the RIA news agency said.
China said yesterday that it regrets the US decision to pull out of the nuclear deal.