Hunt to team up with EU to oppose new Iran sanctions
Britain will do all it can to block Donald trump’s sanctions on iran, it was announced last night.
the UK has joined forces with the EU to take immediate action to preserve peace in the wake of US sanctions, which came into force yesterday after it backed out of the iran nuclear deal.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt issued a joint statement with EU foreign ministers on their ‘determination to protect’ European businesses working with iranian companies.
they warned that the deal is a key element of the plan for global nuclear non-proliferation, and is ‘crucial for the security of Europe, the region, and the entire world’. the intervention is likely to enrage Mr trump, who announced in May he was pulling out of the nuclear deal signed by Barack Obama in 2015.
going against the advice of European allies, he re-imposed economic sanctions from before the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of action (JCPOA).
Mr trump said the international accord to freeze iran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions was a ‘horrible, one-sided deal’ – claiming it had left tehran flush with cash to fuel conflict in the Middle East.
‘we urge all nations to take such steps to make clear that the iranian regime faces a choice: either change its threatening, de-stabilising behaviour and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation,’ he said. He warned that those who do not wind down economic ties to iran ‘risk severe consequences’.
the re-imposition of US sanctions on iran has driven the biggest wedge yet between Europe and washington.
Last night’s EU joint statement spoke of ministers’ ‘deep regret’ about Mr trumps’s withdrawal. it said: ‘the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is an essential part of the deal – it aims at having a positive impact not only on trade and economic relations with iran, but most importantly on the lives of the iranian people.
‘we are determined to pro- European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with iran, in accordance with EU law and with Un Security Council resolution 2231. this is why the European Union’s updated Blocking Statute enters into force on 7 august to protect EU companies doing legitimate business with iran from the impact of US extra-territorial sanctions.’
the statement stressed that the JCPOA goal is to ensure the iranian programme remains ‘exclusively peaceful’, and that this has been confirmed by the international atomic Energy agency in 11 consecutive reports and is expected to continue.
JCPOA partners will continue to maintain financial channels and oil and gas export relationships with iran,
‘Crucial for world security’
and ‘these efforts will be intensified in the coming weeks’.
it added: ‘Preserving the nuclear deal with iran is a matter of respecting international agreements and a matter of international security.’
it came after US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said renewed US sanctions on iran will be rigorously enforced and remain in place until they see ‘enormous change on the part of the iranian regime’.
in response, iranian president Hassan rouhani claimed the US had launched ‘psychological warfare’ against iran.
Last night the US dismissed the EU’s move. a senior administration official said Brussels’ imposition of a ‘blocking statute’ protecting European businesses trading with iran was ‘not something we’re particularly concerned by’.