EU seeks to keep Iran nuclear deal alive despite US pressure

Bloc seeks to kick-start payments channel while stepping up sanctions against Tehran

Germany, France and the UK are scrambling to win EU backing for a dual pronged approach on Iran that would threaten Tehran with further sanctions while shoring up the landmark nuclear deal with the Islamic republic.

The three powers want to agree a common EU position ahead of a February 13-14 meeting on Middle Eastern security that has been jointly convened by the US and Poland. Some European ministers see the Warsaw gathering as an attempt by Washington to push the bloc towards a more hawkish line on Iran.

But the EU is also seeking to reconcile its efforts to preserve the nuclear pact with anger among member states over alleged Iranian assassination plots on European soil.

While Iran has denied all involvement, the EU imposed sanctions this month over alleged conspiracies to murder opposition figures in France and Denmark. In a recent letter the Netherlands accused Tehran of two killings of Dutch nationals of Iranian origin in 2015 and 2017 and European authorities have carried out arrests over a failed bombing of an Iranian opposition group near Paris last year.

“We need to accept that the [nuclear deal] is important and it has been a signal achievement,” said one EU diplomat supportive of the moves to hammer out a new consensus in the 28-member bloc. “Equally, we need to stress that there are real reasons to be concerned about what Iran has been doing — and we need to apply pressure.”

Diplomats said potential sanctions back up for discussion included travel bans and asset freezes over Iran’s missile programme and its support for armed groups in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.

Germany, France and the UK — all of which signed the 2015 nuclear accord — planned missile programme sanctions against Tehran early last year, shelving the idea when it failed to stop US president Donald Trump leaving the atomic agreement.

But technical problems and continuing differences over the new policy’s mix of carrots and sticks mean that ministers are unlikely to agree a joint statement on Monday.

One obstacle is the long-delayed launch of a planned special European non-dollar financial channel to shield trade with Iran from US sanctions.

Diplomats see this as crucial to persuading Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal after Washington pulled out last year. But many EU countries were nervous that any involvement would provoke retribution from the US.

The trade channel is now envisaged to be set up within weeks. It would be based in France, headed by a German and have UK, French and German shareholdings, diplomats said.

European diplomats maintain it is essential for the bloc to have a clear common direction on Iran ahead of a historic first meeting on February 24 and 25 between EU and Arab League foreign ministers. The League’s 22 members include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — both noted Iran hawks.

The Warsaw meeting organised by the US and Poland is still more pressing. Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, said this month that an “important element” of the gathering would be “making sure that Iran is not a destabilising influence” in the Middle East.

Tehran has formally protested to the Polish government over a gathering that it brands a “hostile act against Iran”. Some other EU countries are also deeply uncomfortable with the meeting, diplomats said.

France is unlikely to send JeanYves Le Drian, its foreign minister, while Germany and UK have not yet decided at what level they will be represented, diplomats said. Federica Mogherini, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, will not attend, citing a previous travel commitment, a senior EU official said.

“The US move to hold the meeting in Poland intends to strike at the heart of EU unity on Iran policy,” said Ellie Geranmayeh, a Middle East specialist at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank. “European member states, particularly stakeholders to the nuclear deal, intend to preserve this unity — and read from the same song sheet at Warsaw.”