EU Calls Iran Nuclear Talks Next Month in Bid to Save Deal

By Damon Wake

Brussels made a bid to buy more time to save the Iran nuclear deal Friday, calling a meeting for next month after Britain, France and Germany launched a dispute process.

The European capitals triggered the complaint mechanism last week after Tehran took a series of steps away from its commitments, in protest at the US pulling out of the accord in 2018.

This could have shortened the deal's lifespan but Josep Borrell, the EU's diplomatic chief, who is tasked with convening meetings under the dispute mechanism, has called new talks.

Borrell said he had consulted the countries still in the deal -- which also include Russia and China -- and that all are determined to save the accord.

The Iran nuclear deal has been crumbling since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, prompting the Islamic republic to announce a series of steps away from its commitments.

"Notwithstanding differences on modalities, there is agreement that more time is needed due to the complexity of the issues involved. The timeline is therefore extended," Borrell said in a statement.

"All agreed to pursue expert-level discussions addressing the concerns regarding nuclear implementation, as well as the wider impacts of the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and its re-imposition of sanctions."

JCPOA is an acronym for the deal's formal title, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Borrell said the so-called joint commission that oversees the deal and comprises representatives of all the countries involved will meet in February, though he did not give a precise date.

It usually meets in Vienna, though it can also meet in New York or Geneva.

Room for Maneuver

Under the terms of the dispute mechanism, senior officials have 15 days from the January 14 triggering of the complaint mechanism to find a solution before deciding whether to escalate the issue to foreign ministers level.

By calling the meeting in February, Borrell has extended that initial timeline -- which was conceived to solve technical complaints rather than the slow political collapse of the accord.

European officials say a certain amount of creative ambiguity was deliberately written into the text to allow room for manoeuvre in a crisis, and it now looks likely the dispute process could be prolonged for quite some time.

When they triggered the mechanism, the Europeans urged Iran to come back into full compliance with its obligations under the 2015 accord, which gave Tehran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme aimed at preventing it from developing atomic weapons.

But, privately, diplomats recognise it is highly unlikely Iran will do this without substantial concessions in return -- such as an end to US sanctions or Europe taking measures to offset their economic impact.

Instead they will be content if talks manage to convince Iran not to take any more steps away from the deal, giving space for back-channel diplomacy aimed at an agreement that gets both Washington and Tehran back in the game.

"We want to get round a table to work out what is the fix to get us into a stable place where things won't get worse," one diplomat said.

"It might be possible to get informal agreement on restraint."

Bomb 'Not Around the Corner'

After repeated warnings, Germany, Britain and France triggered the dispute process on January 14 after Iran announced it would no longer observe limits on the number of centrifuges—used to enrich uranium—in its fifth step back from the deal.

But crucially Iran has said it will continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which carries out regular detailed inspections on the ground.

A western diplomat said that, for the Europeans, it was "critical that is maintained".

"The IAEA still has full access, which gives us reassurance about the activities the Iranians are doing. Agency access, verification and monitoring give us confidence that we would know if the Iranian activities are changing in nature," the diplomat said.

For now the Europeans are looking to get Iran back on board rather than reimposing sanctions, and they are keenly aware that they could lose control of the dispute process if it moves to the next stage—notifying the UN Security Council.

If this happens, UN sanctions automatically "snap back" after 30 days unless the Security Council votes to stop them—and here the US would be able to wield its veto.

"They've broken the limits, we're watching. A bomb is not around the corner but we don't want to get to that," a diplomat said.

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran Warns of Repercussions for IAEA Over European Moves

Iran's parliamentary speaker on Sunday warned of unspecified repercussions for the UN's nuclear watchdog if European nations that launched a dispute mechanism against the Islamic republic act "unfairly.”

Britain, France and Germany launched a process last week charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 deal curtailing its nuclear programme, while Tehran accuses the bloc of inaction over US sanctions.

The EU three insisted they remained committed to the agreement, which has already been severely undermined by the US exit from it in 2018 and its reimposition of unilateral sanctions on key sectors of Iran's economy.

"What the three European countries did regarding Iran's nuclear issue... is unfortunate," parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

"We clearly announce that if Europe, for any reason, uses Article 37 of the nuclear agreement unfairly, then Iran will make a serious decision regarding cooperation with the agency," he said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Since May 2019, Iran has progressively scaled back some commitments under the agreement in response to the US sanctions and Europe's inability to circumvent them.

It has stressed, however, that they can be reversed if Tehran's interests are realised.

Iran's latest and final step in January entailed forgoing the limit on the number of machines used to make uranium more potent.

The 2015 nuclear deal—known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—was struck in Vienna by Iran, the EU three, the United States, China and Russia.

It has a provision that allows a party to claim significant non-compliance by another party before a joint commission.

Articles 36 and 37 of the deal say if the issue is not resolved by the commission, it then goes to an advisory board and eventually to the UN Security Council, which could reimpose sanctions.

The decision to begin the so-called dispute mechanism process comes as tensions soar between the West and Iran following the killing of top commander Qasem Soleimani in a US air strike, and the admission by Tehran days later that it had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner.

"The issue is not Iran's behaviour," said the parliamentary speaker.

"It is America's threats that have pushed a powerful European country to a humiliating and unjust" position, said Larijani.

Germany confirmed last week that the United States had been threatening to impose a 25-percent tariff on European cars if the bloc continued to back the nuclear deal.

Photo: IRNA

German Minister Confirms US Threatened Tariffs on EU over Iran

Iran accused European governments Thursday of sacrificing a troubled 2015 nuclear deal to avoid trade reprisals from US President Donald Trump who has spent nearly two years trying to scupper it.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Trump was again behaving like a "high school bully" and the decision by Britain, France and Germany to heed his pressure to lodge a complaint over Iranian compliance deprived them of any right to claim the moral high ground.

The three governments "sold out remnants of #JCPOA (the nuclear deal) to avoid new Trump tariffs," Zarif charged.

"It won't work my friends. You only whet his appetite. Remember your high school bully?"

Germany's defence minister on Thursday confirmed a Washington Post report that the United States had threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if EU governments continued to back the nuclear deal.

"This expression or threat, as you will, does exist," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told a news conference during a visit to London.

Zarif said Europe's unwillingness to antagonise the United States made a mockery of its stated determination to rescue the nuclear deal.

"If you want to sell your integrity, go ahead," Zarif tweeted. "But DO NOT assume high moral/legal ground."

The European states triggered a dispute mechanism established under the deal, which allows a party to claim significant non-compliance by another party before a joint commission, with appeals possible to an advisory board and ultimately to the UN Security Council.

Since Washington pulled out of the agreement and reimposed crippling unilateral sanctions in 2018, EU governments have sought to find a way to allow European businesses to continue trading with Iran without incurring huge US penalties.

As its economy has gone into reverse, an increasingly frustrated Iran has hit back with the step-by-step suspension of its own commitments under the deal.

The three European governments said they lodged their complaint in response to the latest step by Tehran suspending the limit on the number of centrifuges it uses to enrich uranium.

Speaking in India on Wednesday, Zarif already questioned how the European Union could allow itself to be "bullied" by Washington when it was the world's largest economy.

He warned the three EU governments party to the deal that their complaint could backfire, charging that they themselves were in violation because they had fallen in line with the US sanctions.

"They are not buying oil from us, all of their companies have withdrawn from Iran. So Europe is in violation," he said.

Zarif held talks in New Delhi on Thursday with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.

An EU statement said the two had "a frank dialogue" in which Borrell "underlined the continued interest of the European Union to preserve the agreement".

The cooling of Iran's relations with Europe comes at a time of red-hot tensions with the United States since a US drone strike in Iraq killed a top Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander earlier this month.

Photo: Wikicommons

UK PM Says 'Trump Deal' Could Replace Iran Nuclear Pact

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he would be willing to work on a "Trump deal" to replace an international accord designed to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

"If we are going to get rid of it then we need a replacement," Johnson said of the 2015 nuclear deal that Britain and other European powers have been trying to salvage since President Donald Trump pulled the United States out in 2018.

Britain, France and Germany announced on Tuesday they were launching a dispute mechanism under the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), because Iran was not meeting its commitments.

The EU's diplomatic chief on Tuesday urged all parties to the Iran nuclear accord to save it, saying escalating tensions made the deal "more important than ever."

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign affairs high representative, spoke after Britain, France and Germany formally triggered a dispute mechanism under the 2015 accord, after Iran announced its fifth major step back from compliance.

The deal gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

Borrell, who will oversee the dispute mechanism which could ultimately lead to reimposition of UN sanctions, said the aim of the process was to save the deal, not sink it.

"The dispute resolution mechanism requires intensive efforts in good faith by all. As the coordinator, I expect all JCPOA participants to approach this process in that spirit," he said, using an acronym for the deal's formal title.

"In light of the ongoing dangerous escalations in the Middle East, the preservation of the JCPOA is now more important than ever," he said.

In launching the process, Britain, France and Germany accused Tehran of repeated violations of the deal but insisted they remained committed to it.

Johnson said a "Trump deal" would be "a great way forward", but did not specify the details of the proposal. 

His idea stands at odds with Tuesday's statement from Britain, France and Germany, which expressed "determination to work with all participants to preserve" the deal.

"From the American perspective it's a flawed agreement, it expires, plus it was negotiated by (former) President Obama," Johnson said.

"President Trump is a great deal-maker—by his own account and many others. Let's work together to replace the JCPOA and get the Trump deal instead."

Tehran has wound down its compliance since the American withdrawal and last week, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the non-compliance had become "so acute" that European powers were looking at taking action.

He said London wanted to see Iran "come back to full compliance" and said triggering the dispute resolution mechanism was one option.

The mechanism could ultimately lead to the UN Security Council reimposing sanctions on Iran.

Photo; IRNA