EU High Representative Federica Mogherini has visited Iran (7 August) on the occasion of the inauguration of President Hassan Rouhani. She reiterated the Union’s commitment to the Iran nuclear deal and urged “all parties” to abide by it. Her comment was specifically targeted at the United States, whose fresh sanctions against Iran attracted much of attention, considering that the EU has indicated its full support for the nuclear deal with Tehran.
The White House under the leadership of Donald Trump has recently voiced a lot of reservations over the deal with Tehran. The last batch of sanctions was said to be a response to the claims of ballistic missiles tests and Tehran’s support of terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that jeopardize the stability in the Middle East. Washington said that Iran maintained its “steadfast support” for the Assad regime in Syria, despite Assad’s atrocities against his own people.
The international community is pursuing the landmark nuclear deal – a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers – China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, and the US, the EU. The deal provides for the restriction of Iran’s nuclear program, its peaceful use and, in return, the phasing out of Western sanctions. Mrs. Mogherini, who is JCPOA’s coordinator, emphasized that the deal was actually delivering against its objectives, which is “confirmed by the six International Agency for Atomic Energy reports and by the economic results following the lifting of nuclear related economic and financial sanctions”.
