European Foreign Ministers to meet in Brussels, discuss future of Iran accord

The European Foreign Affairs Council is set to convene in Brussels on Monday to assess the present circumstances of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear development programs following Trump’s American withdrawal from the accord.

European leaders have been relentlessly expressing their desire to maintain the deal without the US and as long as Iran keeps up its end of the bargain, and to do whatever is necessary in order to preserve it.

Additionally, with the reimposition of US economic sanctions on Iran, which threaten measures against any firm or government doing business with or within Iran, the Council is also intent on protecting European firms which do exactly that, as well as further elucidating how this might be accomplished.

Tasnim News Agency reports:

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The EU foreign ministers will meet in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on May 28 to discuss the latest developments around the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, a few weeks after US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull his country out of the agreement.

“The (Foreign Affairs) Council will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the EU’s unified view and position in support of maintaining this agreement and to signal our determination to do everything possible to preserve it, as long as the Iranians uphold their commitments in this area,” according to a statement by France Diplomatie on Saturday.

It added, “The EU is determined to protect its interests and those of its businesses and investors in the face of the extraterritorial effect of US Sanctions”.

“This discussion will also provide an opportunity to reaffirm the need to address the ballistic missile and regional issues within the framework of a comprehensive approach to Iran”.

A meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) took place in Vienna on 25 May 2018 upon the request of the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to review the implications of the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA on May 8 and discuss the way forward to ensure the continued implementation of the deal in all its aspects.

Under the terms of the JCPOA, the Joint Commission is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the nuclear deal.

The Joint Commission, chaired, on behalf of EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, by EEAS Secretary General Helga Schmid, was attended by the E3+2 (China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom) and Iran at the level of Political Directors/Deputy Foreign Ministers.

When Europe first came out with the determination to preserve the nuclear accord in spite Trump’s ill conceived action and announced its unmitigated desired to counter the effects thereof, not merely as regards the nuclear deal itself, but also relevant to commercial activity with Iran, some where a bit skeptical if Europe would actually follow though on those threats, or if it was simply a lot of hot air, tough talk before an eventual capitulation to the foreign policy of the US.

However, the many statements and meetings that have transpired since May 8th, when Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, which have only continued to multiply in their number and intensity, seems to indicate otherwise.

Heads of state, finance ministers, foreign ministers, diplomatic meetings, and economic forums, among others, have each, in turn, gone about expressing these sentiments.

To beef them up even further, Trump has only continued to intensify his tariffs regime as well as to threaten European energy initiatives, as well as further rounds of sanctions, which have pushed the European signatories to the Iran nuclear accord even further together in their mutual interests of economic cooperation with Iran, preservation of the JCPOA, as well as the preservation or initiation of other peripheral initiatives.

Now, on Monday, we will witness a joint meeting between the foreign ministers of Europe come together once again to express their solidarity in opposition to the will of Washington on Iran and these other matters, which promises to be an interesting gathering for sure.