Mogherini:

Europe, int’l community working to preserve JCPOA

TEHRAN(defapress)– Brussels together with the international community is working to preserve Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), EU top diplomat said.

News ID: 74912

Date: 11 January 2019 - 18:26

“We are working, as a Union of 28 member states and with the rest of the international community, to preserve a nuclear agreement that has so far been implemented in full, as certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 13 consecutive reports,” High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said Friday in an interview, which was published in European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

“I start by saying this because I often hear that, on this issue, Europe is motivated mainly by economic or trade considerations. That is not the case: we do this to prevent a nuclear non-proliferation agreement that is working from being dismantled, and to prevent a major security crisis in the Middle East,” she added.

She went on to say, “Part of this work requires us to guarantee that firms wanting to do legitimate business with Iran are allowed to do so.”

“This is what we are working on right now: tools that will assist, protect, and reassure economic actors pursuing legitimate business with Iran,” Mogherini reiterated.

She added, “It is true that this situation has triggered a conversation on European economic sovereignty. We Europeans cannot accept that a foreign power – even our closest friend and ally – makes decisions over our legitimate trade with another country.”

This is while earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi criticized the European Union for delay in implementation of the SPV following the US exit from Iran nuclear deal, saying that the country deems EU responsible for not implementing the mechanism.

“The Europeans as the main beneficiary should think about the consequences of the decision, as Iran has so far fulfilled all its commitments under the JCPOA,” he said, noting that Iran’s patience is wearing thin and it is time for the EU to take its strategic decision.

“Dollar dominance as well as interconnection of the EU and US economies are among the reasons behind SPV delay,' he said, noting that the EU and even the three countries favoring SPV are also captive and hostage of the US economy in JCPOA. He noted that they should make decision for their independence.

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