China to To Host Iran Leader Amid Nuclear Deal Upheaval

Iran's president will attend a summit with his Chinese and Russian counterparts next month, officials in Beijing said Monday, as they try to salvage the nuclear deal thrown into upheaval by Donald Trump.

China, Russia and European powers, all of which signed the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, are scrambling to save the pact following the US president's decision to quit the agreement and reinstate sanctions.

China's President Xi Jinping will meet Iran's Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting on June 9-10 in Qingdao, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend the summit, he added. Wang did not include the nuclear deal in a readout of the summit's formal agenda.

But Beijing, which is Iran's top trade partner and one of the biggest buyers of its oil, has signaled that it intends to keep working with the Islamic regime despite the US move.

Chinese businesses are expected to step up activities in Iran to fill the void left by the exit of US companies and the possible withdrawal of European rivals for fear of punitive measures enforced by the US.

Iran is currently an observer member of the SCO, though it has long sought full membership. 

The regional bloc focusing on security and trade also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics and two new members, Pakistan and India.

The summit will discuss a three-year action plan to "fight the three evil forces"—terrorism, separatism and extremism—and strengthen cooperation on tackling cybersecurity breaches and drug trafficking, Wang said. 

China will also push for "reforms to the multilateral trading regime" connecting the markets of SCO members, which account for nearly 40 percent of the global population, he said.

China floated the idea of an SCO free trade area in 2016, according to state-run Xinhua agency, but Wang did not say whether it would be part of the agenda.

Photo Credit: IRNA

Iran Sanctions Shadow Falls on Smaller German Banks

Germany's biggest lenders have shied away from business with Iran after past penalties for breaching US sanctions, but smaller banks have leapt on opportunities afforded by the nuclear deal rejected by Donald Trump.

There are just months to go until a November deadline issued by Washington after the US president abandoned a hard-fought agreement that loosened business restrictions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for Tehran giving up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

But some firms plan to press on in their dealings with Iran despite the looming threat of penalties.

"We will continue to serve our clients," for now, said Patrizia Melfi, a director at the "international competence centre" (KCI) founded by six cooperative savings banks in the small town of Tuttlingen in southwest Germany.

The centre, which supports companies operating in sensitive markets like Iran or Sudan, has seen demand "rising sharply in the last few years, from firms listed on the Dax (Germany's index of blue-chip firms), from all over Germany and from Switzerland," she added.

German exports to Iran have grown since the nuclear deal was signed in 2015, adding 15.5 percent last year to reach almost EUR 2.6 billion (USD 3.0 billion) after 22-percent growth in 2016.

Such figures remain vanishingly small compared with Germany's 111.5 billion euros in exports to the US—its top customer.

Nevertheless, the KCI will "wait and see what the sanctions look like" before turning away from Iran, Melfi said.

Walking on Eggshells

Already, firms dealing with Tehran must take great care not to fall foul of US restrictions.

Transactions are carried out in euros, and the KCI does not deal with businesses that have American citizens or green card resident holders on their boards.

What's more, products sold to Iran cannot contain more than 10 percent of parts manufactured in the US.

One of the most important inputs for the business is "courage among our managers" given the high risks involved, Melfi said.

Germany's two biggest banks, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, avoid Iran completely after being slapped with harsh fines in 2015 over their dealings there, with Deutsche alone paying USD 258 million in penalties.

DZ Bank, which operates as a central bank for more than 1,000 local co-op lenders, is withdrawing completely from payment services there, a spokesman told AFP.

That left KCI to seek out the German branch of Iranian state-owned bank Melli in Hamburg.

Even that linkage could break if Iran's biggest business bank appears on a US list of barred businesses as it has before.

Meanwhile, among Germany's roughly 390 Sparkasse savings banks, business with the regime is mostly limited to producing documents linked to export contracts.

"We will be looking even more closely at those" in the future, a person familiar with the trade told AFP.

Elsewhere in the German economy, the European-Iranian Trade Bank (EIH) founded in 1971 is another conduit to Tehran.

Also based in Hamburg, it for now remains "fully available to you with our products and services", the bank assures clients on its website, although "business policy decisions by European banks may result in short term or medium term restrictions on payments".

'Effectively Protected' 

Neither does the Bundesbank (German central bank) believe that much has so far changed for business with Iran.

"Only the European Union's sanctions regime will be decisive", if and when it is changed, the institution told AFP.

Any payment involving an Iranian party would have to be approved by the Bundesbank if things return to their pre-January 2016 state.

German banking lobby group Kreditwirtschaft has called on Berlin and other EU nations to clarify their stance—and to make sure banks and their clients are "effectively protected against possible American sanctions."

KCI's Melfi said time is running out for EU governments to act.

"Many firms just want to stop anything with Iran, since they can't calculate the risk of staying," she noted.

On Friday for the first time since the Iran nuclear deal came into force in 2015, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany gathered in Vienna—at Iran's request—without the United States, to discuss how to save the agreement.

Photo Credit: DZ Bank

Iran Expects Measures to Save Nuclear Deal by End of May

European countries have until the end of May to propose ways to mitigate the effects of the US withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran, a senior Iranian official said Friday.

Tehran has threatened to restart its uranium enrichment program at an "industrial level" if the 2015 pact falls apart.

The comments came ahead of the first "joint commission" meeting in Vienna between the other signatories of the deal—China, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and Iran—since Washington's dramatic announcement on May 8 that it was pulling out from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and would re-impose sanctions on Iran.

The move has put the deal in "intensive care", the senior Iranian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

US President Donald Trump has long trashed the deal—concluded under his predecessor Barack Obama -- saying it did not do enough to curtail Tehran's nuclear ambitions. 

After Friday's meeting, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations were ongoing with the remaining signatories "to see if they can provide us with a package which can give Iran the benefits of sanctions lifting."

He added that "practical solutions" were required to address Iran's concerns over its oil exports, banking flows and foreign investments in the country.  

"The next step is to find guarantees for that package," he said.

Araghchi said that talks would continue over the next few weeks "particularly at an expert level", after which Iran would decide whether or not to stay in the accord. 

"We got the sense that Europeans, Russia and China... are serious and they recognize that JCPOA's survival depends on the interests of Iran being respected," Araghchi added.

A senior EU official said after the meeting that the bloc could not "give guarantees but we can create the necessary conditions for the Iranians to keep benefiting from the sanctions lifting under the JCPOA and to protect our interests and continue to develop legitimate business with Iran."

"We are working on a variety of measures to mitigate consequences of the US withdrawal," the official, who did not want to be named, said while cautioning that "there are things that will take more time."

Russian delegate Mikhail Ulyanov struck an upbeat note, saying: "We have
all chances to succeed, provided that we have the political will.

"I must tell you that the JCPOA is a major international asset. It does not belong to the United States, it belongs to the whole international community."

He added that the possibility of referring the matter back to the UN "was not discussed during this meeting".

'Dying' Deal

Unusually for a meeting of the joint commission, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog Yukiya Amano was invited to brief the participants on his organization's work in Iran.

According to a report seen by AFP on Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes Iran is still abiding by the deal's key restrictions on its nuclear facilities in return for relief from damaging economic sanctions.

The IAEA, however, is "encouraging (Iran) to go above and beyond the requirements" of the deal in order to boost confidence, said a senior diplomat in Vienna, where the nuclear watchdog is based. 

As well as criticizing the deal for not adequately restricting Iran's nuclear activities, Trump also said it did not go far enough in limiting Iran's ballistic missile program, or its intervention in regional conflicts from Yemen to Iraq and Syria.

The unnamed senior Iranian official rejected any attempt to link the JCPOA to other such issues.

The official said such an attempt would mean "we lose JCPOA and we (would) make the other issues even more complicated to resolve," adding it was pointless for the Europeans to try to "appease" Trump.

"We have now a deal which is in the intensive care unit, it's dying," the official said.  

The five signatories still committed to the agreement have said they want Iran to stay in the deal, with the European countries saying they would not rule out further talks with the Islamic Republic on an expanded text.

However, Iranian officials have warned that there was no question of broadening the discussions.

Photo Credit: YJC

Iran Nuclear Deal 'In Intensive Care' as Signatories Meet in Vienna

Signatories of the Iran nuclear deal are meeting in Vienna on Friday in a bid to save the agreement, as Iran warned the deal had been put "in intensive care" by Washington's dramatic withdrawal earlier this month.

For the first time since the accord came into force in 2015, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany will gather—at Iran's request—without the United States, which pulled out on May 8.

US President Donald Trump has long trashed the deal with Iran—concluded under his predecessor Barack Obama -- saying it did not do enough to curtail Tehran's nuclear ambitions. 

He also said it did not go far enough in restricting Iran's ballistic missile program, or its intervention in regional conflicts from Yemen to Iraq and Syria.

A senior Iranian official rejected any attempt to link the deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to other such issues, saying it would mean "we lose JCPOA and we (would) make the other issues even more complicated to resolve", adding that it was pointless for the Europeans to try to "appease" Trump.

"We have now a deal which is in the intensive care unit, it's dying," he said. 

He added that the Europeans had promised Iran an "economic package" to maintain the benefits of the JCPOA for Iran despite the reintroduction of US sanctions. 

Iran expected this package by the end of May, he said, adding that Iran had only "a few weeks" before having to decide whether to keep participating in the deal or not.

Since the US pull out, the other signatories have embarked on a diplomatic marathon to try to keep the agreement afloat.

According to a report seen by AFP Thursday, an International Atomic Energy Agency believes Iran is still abiding by the deal's key restrictions on its nuclear facilities in return for relief from damaging economic sanctions.

The IAEA, however, is "encouraging (Iran) to go above and beyond the requirements" of the deal in order to boost confidence, said a senior diplomat in Vienna, where the IAEA is based. 

Iran has threatened to restart its uranium enrichment program at an "industrial level" if the deal falls apart.

The five signatories still committed to the agreement have said they want Iran to stay in the deal, with the European countries saying they would not rule out further talks with the Islamic Republic on an expanded text.

However, several Iranian officials warned that the Vienna meeting would be devoted to the existing agreement only, implying that there was no question of broadening the discussions.

Photo Credit: EEAS Twitter

Iran's First Female Manufacturer, a Victim of Trump

She fought through a male-dominated world to become perhaps Iran's first female manufacturing boss, and was on the cusp of major success with the help of a European investor.

Until Donald Trump brought her crashing back to earth.

When Leila Daneshvar was a little girl, she used to sit on the floor of her father's workshop, asking for small jobs.

"He was a mechanic, and I always had the most fun when I was in the garage with him," she told AFP.

"But in those days, there were no mechanical careers in Iran, so I went to college in India. Even there, I was the only girl in my year of 139 students. I had a hard time."

But she persevered. Now 37, she runs her own company in Iran, making mobility equipment for hospitals and the elderly.

"I went to Europe and saw how disabled people live happy, independent lives. I wished my own people had this equipment, and I thought: 'This doesn't look complicated. I'm a mechanical engineer—I can do it.'"

The breakthrough for the company, called KTMA and selling under the brand "Lord", came in early 2016, just after Iran's nuclear deal with world powers came into force, lifting international sanctions.

Within a couple of months, a Swedish investor, Anna Russberg, had agreed to buy 25 percent of the company, bringing much-needed business acumen and capital.

"Leila had a reputation for quality production, which was practically unknown here. But I needed to turn the business upside-down," said Anna.

"It worked. People could tell we were a good mix. We respect each other's knowledge. She's the engineer, I'm the businesswoman."

Being women in Iran's patriarchal business world could be tricky, but also an advantage.

"Hijab is difficult when you're a manufacturer. You have to climb things, go below things," said Leila, laughing. "But being a woman has its advantages. Everyone remembers you."

Anna added: "People don't know how to treat us exactly, which is useful in negotiations."

'Breaks my Heart' 

Things were looking up: low production costs meant they could charge five times less than foreign firms and they were doubling sales each year, finally landing a major contract with Qatari hospitals.

But then Trump happened.

Even before he pulled the US out of the nuclear deal, the American president's constant threats to reimpose sanctions had a chilling effect on trade.

It soon became hard to import crucial raw materials, particularly stainless steel.

"We already had problems in getting raw materials... and now it's impossible. Either I have to close the factory, or have to continue with much higher prices," said Leila.

"We had to let four or five workers go last month because we couldn't pay their salaries, and it breaks my heart."

She watched Trump deliver his speech on May 8, reimposing sanctions on Iran, with a mix of horror and fury, particularly when he claimed to be on the side of the Iranian people against their government.

"That made me so angry. These sanctions are not on the government, it's on the people. I can give less to disabled people, to the elderly. Our saying was that we are providing European quality with affordable prices. Can I do that anymore? I don't know."

Anna remains defiantly positive.

"Iran has 10 million older or injured people who can use our product. With or without Trump, we still have a business," she said.

But whether or not the business can survive the Trump administration's vow to "crush" the Iranian economy with sanctions, it is already clear that investors like Anna are no longer coming to Iran.

The dream of the nuclear deal—that hundreds of small businesses would blossom with European support, creating an important constituency supporting good relations with the West—was dead long before Trump finally yanked the US out of the agreement.

"It's a real pity. Being an investor in Iran is a rollercoaster—you take one step forward, three steps back. But it's an amazing country with great opportunities," Anna said.

Leila stays positive by remembering her father, who passed away last month. "When I become weak and tired... I remember his strength," she said.

"There is no going back. Iran faces so many problems, but I learned from him that the strength is inside me, and my partner. When we believe we can do it, we will do it."

Photo Credit: Atta Kenare

Iran Still Implementing Terms of 2015 Nuclear Deal: IAEA

Iran is still implementing the 2015 accord over its nuclear program, according to a report by the UN's nuclear watchdog.

The International Atomic Energy Agency report, seen by AFP, shows that Iran is abiding by the deal's key restrictions on its nuclear facilities.

The latest assessment from the IAEA comes weeks after US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the accord, throwing its future into jeopardy.

The IAEA urged Iran to stick with the accord and even go beyond its legal obligations so as to boost international confidence in Tehran's commitments

A senior diplomat at IAEA headquarters said this was not prompted by any lack of co-operation or change of behavior on Iran's part.

The IAEA is "encouraging (Iran)  to go above and beyond the requirements" of the deal in order to boost confidence, the diplomat said, adding that Tehran could for example invite inspectors to sites they had not demanded access to.

Signatories Britain, France, Germany plus the European Union, Russia and China have been trying to salvage the deal after Trump's decision but Iran has warned that if it suffers as a result the reintroduction of US economic sanctions, it could walk away from the accord.

Photo Credit: IAEA

Merkel, Chinese Premier Defend Iran Deal, Free Trade

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang defended the Iran nuclear deal on Thursday, with Li hinting that terminating the pact would complicate negotiations with North Korea.

Merkel and Li showed a united front on Iran and free trade—two issues that have seen high-profile interventions by US President Donald Trump—during their meeting at the opulent Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Li warned that ending the agreement with Tehran "will not just impact Iran, but also have a negative impact on (the ability) to solve other hot international issues through peaceful negotiations."

He did not mention North Korea by name, but analysts have warned that Trump's withdrawal from the Iran deal dented Washington's negotiating credibility ahead of his scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month.

The German leader also sounded the alarm about the economic impact on Europe of Trump's move to quit the Iran agreement. 

Trump's decision to reimpose sanctions on Tehran, despite pleas from allies to maintain the deal, could hit European firms that have done business with Iran since the 2015 accord was signed.

If European companies pull out or shrink operations in Iran fearing US sanctions, it would "create an opportunity for businesses in other countries to step in and play a greater role", Merkel said. 

Meanwhile, Li dismissed the idea that the Iran crisis paved the way for the internationalization of the Chinese currency, amid speculation that demand for yuan-denominated oil futures would increase.

"The internationalization of the yuan is a long-term process that is closely linked to the development of the Chinese economy," Li said.

On trade, Merkel welcomed China's moves to reduce automobile import tariffs and allow foreign carmakers to own a majority stake in joint ventures with
Chinese partners.

The Chancellor drove home Berlin's demand for Beijing to ease barriers on foreign investment, saying the two countries would sign a memorandum of understanding to offer mutual access to each others' markets for autonomous vehicles.

"China and Germany are on the path of promoting multilateralism and bolstering free trade," said Merkel, who was accompanied by an industry delegation of 18 German executives.

Li hinted that a China-EU investment agreement, which has been in the works for years, might be signed during a bilateral meeting in July in Beijing.

"China's doors (for investment) will be opened even more," Li said.

Merkel was expected to take up the case of Liu Xia, widow of Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, who remains under house arrest without charges nearly a year after her husband died of cancer in custody.

"We have found a dialogue mechanism where difficult questions can be raised," she said. Merkel will meet with President Xi Jinping later Thursday.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

Iran Accuses US of Breaking Promises

Iran cannot "interact" with the United States as it is a country whose word cannot be trusted, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

"The first experience is that the government of the Islamic Republic cannot interact with America... Why? Because America is not committed to its promises," Press TV quoted him in English as saying.

His comments came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday warned that Iran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history" and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business in Tehran.

The move was a toughening-up of Washington's policy line after its withdrawal on May 8 from a landmark nuclear pact aimed at preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Pompeo outlined 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran to make sure it "will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East".

US President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal earlier this month despite intense diplomatic efforts by European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it by adding tougher new elements.

Trump opposed the 2015 deal with Iran—also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia—believing it did not go far enough.

The international community, including top US officials, said earlier Tehran had been in compliance with the terms of the deal but Trump despised it, pointing to other aspects of Iranian behavior not covered in the pact.

Photo Credit: khameini.ir

US Policy on Iran Puts Region in 'Further Danger': France

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Wednesday that the United States risks further destabilizing the Middle East after Washington warned Iran faced the "strongest sanctions in history."

"The sanctions to be launched against Iran will not foster dialogue. On the contrary, they will boost the importance and power of Iran's conservatives and weaken president (Hassan) Rouhani, who wanted to negotiate," Le Drian told France Inter radio. "Ultimately, this stance is likely to put the region in further danger than it is today."

On May 8, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which curbs the country's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

The decision to withdraw from the accord marked a stark diplomatic defeat for Europe, whose leaders, repeatedly and in person, had called on Trump to think again.

Speaking Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Tehran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history" and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business with the Islamic republic.

Le Drian warned Wednesday of a "regional explosion" because of the Syrian civil war and the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Asked if there was a risk of a new conflict, he replied "yes".

He referred to rockets fired from "Iranian arms based in Syria" on May 10 on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which prompted return fire by Israel against Iranian targets inside Syria.

"The conditions are all there so that if by chance something happened, perhaps on purpose, perhaps not, there could be an escalation," he added.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

For Many Ordinary Iranians, US Threats Barely Register

While some US officials hope their increasingly aggressive measures could trigger some kind of new Iranian revolution, they are unlikely to get much take-up at Tehran's Tajrish bazaar.

The overriding response to Monday's threat-laden speech by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was one of weary apathy.

Not one person approached by AFP over several hours at the upmarket bazaar in northern Tehran had seen the speech. 

When its key points were relayed to them, it was generally seen as the same angry rhetoric they have been hearing from the United States for decades. 

"Americans think they own the world. They want to decide for other countries as they wish," said Omidi, a retired man, shopping at the bazaar.  

"They want to have everything. They want to have even more nuclear energy and atomic bombs than they have now. And they want the countries that oppose them to have nothing," he added, indignantly.

Pompeo's threat to "crush" Iran with sanctions has sparked widespread fears, particularly among anyone with a business linked to the outside world. But sanctions are also familiar in Iran, and many remained defiant.

 "There have been sanctions over the last 30 years," said Musavi, a government employee.  

"If it was going to have any effect, it would have affected us over the last 30 years. Iran has never paid attention to sanctions and has stood on its own feet," he added. 

"America has proven for the last 40 years that it is hostile towards us," said Chegini, a street seller.

Pompeo said he wanted a new deal with Iran, but his 12 demands on ending Iran's regional interventions and missile program are considered a non-starter by the government, particularly in the way they were presented.

"Trump's secretary of state is 40 years behind the times. The Iranian nation had the revolution so that no one can tell them what to do," said Eshagh Jahangiri, Iran's first vice president.

"Trump's administration will eventually have to come to terms with the reality that Iran... must be spoken to with the language of courtesy and logic and not with the language of threats," he wrote on Twitter.

Photo Credit: Thomas Cristofoletti  

Iran Government Says No Evidence Against Detained Environmentalists

Iran's environment chief said Tuesday that a government committee had concluded there was no evidence against wildlife activists rounded up on spying charges in recent months. 

Isa Kalantari, head of the government's department of environment, told state news agency IRNA that the conclusion had been reached by a special four-man committee, including the ministers of justice, interior and intelligence, and the president's legal deputy. 

"This four-member group has come to the conclusion that these detained individuals are in custody without having done anything and naturally they must be freed soon," Kalantari said.

Iran has multiple, overlapping intelligence agencies—the most prominent are linked to the government, judiciary and Revolutionary Guards—that often act independently of each other, so the committee's assessment may have no effect.

The government's intelligence ministry has previously stated there was no evidence against the arrested environmentalists. 

"There is no document indicating the truth of the accusations leveled against these detained individuals," Kalantari said.

Little detail has been given about the detentions, which began with the arrest of eight members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Organisation in January.

But the cases drew international attention after the renowned head of the organization, 63-year-old Kavous Seyed Emami, allegedly committed suicide in prison a fortnight after his arrest. 

Kalantari's deputy at the department of environment, Kaveh Madani, was also forced to flee the country last month after pressure from hardliners about his private life. 

There have been reports of several more environmentalists arrested in the south of the country, although only three have been officially confirmed—members of the Association for the Protection of Nature in Lavardin. 

Iran faces severe environmental challenges, particularly linked to a prolonged drought and extreme air pollution. 

Photo Credit: 

'No Alternative' to Iran Deal, EU's Mogherini Tells U.S.

The EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact.

Pompeo—a longtime Iran hawk and fierce opponent of the 2015 agreement earlier Monday outlined an aggressive series of "painful" measures designed to hurt Tehran, in his first key address since moving to the State Department from the CIA in April.

"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

She stressed "there is no alternative" to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is officially known.

US President Donald Trump sparked an international outcry earlier this month when he announced his country would pull out of the landmark accord struck in July 2015 between Tehran and major world powers.

His move came despite the fact that the UN's nuclear watchdog, in charge of monitoring Iran's compliance with the deal, has confirmed that Tehran has so far abided by the terms.

Trump wants Brussels and others to support his hardline strategy and push for a fresh agreement.

"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East," Pompeo said Monday, outlining 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran.

But Mogherini called on the US to keep its commitments as part of the agreement signed under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

"The JCPOA is the result of more than a decade of complex and delicate negotiations, based on dual track approach and therefore the best possible outcome, striking the right balance," Mogherini said.

"This deal belongs to the international community, having been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. The international community expects all sides to keep the commitments they made more than two years ago," she added.

She reiterated that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had confirmed already 10 times that Iran has implemented "all its nuclear related commitments" under the agreement.

The re-establishment of the US punitive measures will likely force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States.

The EU has been trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

Iran's Rouhani: 'World No Longer Accepts US Deciding For Them'

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed threats made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement carried by multiple Iranian news agencies.

"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added.

It was a pointed response to Pompeo's speech earlier in the day, in which he threatened the "strongest sanctions in history" against Iran unless it capitulated to a series of 12 demands regarding its regional behavior and missile program.

But Rouhani dismissed the administration of President Donald Trump as a
"move 15 years backwards to the era of Bush junior and a repeat of the same
statements as 2003."

"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," he added.

European leaders have strongly condemned the US move to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions, seeing it as undermining regional security and a direct attack on their economic interests.

Russia and China–two other parties to the agreement–have also criticized the US move and vowed to maintain trade with Iran.

"The world does not accept the logic by which a gentleman who was head of the spy service... decides for others," said Rouhani, referring to Pompeo's recent job as head of the CIA.

Photo Credit: IRNA

U.S. Will Put 'Unprecedented Financial Pressure' on Iran: Pompeo

The United States will increase the financial pressure on Iran with the "strongest sanctions in history," after Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday.

"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said in his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA. 

"The sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen for itself and the people of Iran," he added in the speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East," he said in outlining the new US strategy on handling the Islamic regime, including 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran.

Pompeo said if Iran were to abide by the stricter terms, including ending its ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, the United States would lift its sanctions.

"We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them," Pompeo said.

"Iran will be forced to make a choice: either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or keep squandering precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the resources to do both."

President Donald Trump has long said the original 2015 deal with Iran—also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia—did not go far enough, and now wants the Europeans and others to support his hardline strategy.

"In the strategy we are announcing today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe. I don't just mean our friends in Europe," Pompeo said.

The secretary of state also warned European businesses who work with Iran in violation of US sanctions that they will be held "to account."

The re-establishment of the US sanctions will force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States.

In reality, there is no choice—European companies cannot afford to forsake the US market.

For now, the European Union is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

Iran's Zarif Says EU Efforts to Save Nuke Deal 'Not Sufficient'

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that European efforts to save the nuclear deal after the exit of the United States were not sufficient. 

"The cascade of decisions by EU companies to end their activities in Iran makes things much more complicated," Zarif told reporters. 

He spoke after meeting with EU energy commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, who has been on a two-day visit to Tehran—the first by a Western official since Washington announced its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal earlier this month.

"With the exit of the United States from the nuclear deal, the expectations of the Iranian public towards the European Union have increased... and the EU's political support for the nuclear agreement is not sufficient," Zarif added in comments carried by state broadcaster IRIB.

Several foreign firms have already halted their Iranian operations while they wait to see how talks within the EU will play out.

French oil major Total said last week it would abandon its $4.8-billion investment project in Iran unless it was granted a waiver from Washington. 

Another French energy giant, Engie, said Saturday it would cease engineering work in Iran before November, when US sanctions are due to be reimposed.  

"The European Union must take concrete supplementary steps to increase its investments in Iran. The commitments of the EU to apply the nuclear deal are not compatible with the announcement of probable withdrawal by major European companies," Zarif said.

Canete said he recognised that time was short and that clear measures were needed from Europe to protect investments and oil purchases.

Iran has threatened to resume industrial uranium enrichment "without limit" 
if its interests are not protected.

Photo Credit: Fars

Iran Wary as EU Presents Measures to Save Nuclear Deal

Iran said Saturday it would wait to see whether Europe produces tangible results in overcoming US sanctions before deciding whether to stay in the nuclear deal, as a top EU official visited Tehran to present plans to maintain trade ties.

"The ball is in the court of the EU. They have presented different proposals, we will see if they materialize," Iran's Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters.

He was speaking after a meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, the first high-level Western official to visit Iran since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal earlier this month.

Canete called the nuclear deal "fundamental for peace in the region" as he outlined EU plans to continue oil and gas purchases and protect European companies, despite renewed US sanctions on Iran that are set to be phased in over the next six months. 

"For sure there are clear difficulties with the sanctions," Canete said at a press conference alongside Salehi. 

"We will have to ask for waivers, for carve-outs for the companies that make investments."

Salehi acknowledged Europe's efforts but said: "We want tangible results, otherwise we take our own decisions. I personally don't want to see such decisions being taken."

EU Firms Eye Exit

Iran has threatened to resume industrial uranium enrichment "without limit" unless its interests are preserved. 

Salehi said the Iranian people had lost trust in the nuclear agreement, and if trade benefits were not protected "they will lose more confidence... and we will be forced to leave."

European leaders have outlined measures to protect EU firms from US sanctions. 

But several of their companies—including France's Total and Holland's Maersk -- have already said it will be impossible to stay in Iran once US sanctions are reimposed unless they receive explicit exemptions from Washington. 

Canete was due to meet Iran's Environment Minister Isa Kalantari and Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh later on Saturday, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday.

Iran's trade with the European Union is around 20 billion euros, evenly split between imports and exports. 

The vast majority of EU purchases from Iran—90 percent—are oil purchases, going primarily to Spain, France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Germany.

Iran, which has the world's fourth-biggest oil reserves, produces some 3.8 million barrels of oil per day, 70 percent of which goes to China and other Asian countries, and 20 percent to Europe. 

It also has the second-biggest gas reserves in the world, but limited infrastructure means little is exported.

Russia and China—the other parties to the nuclear deal—have also vowed to maintain trade with Iran and are less vulnerable to economic pressure from Washington. 

Photo Credit: EU MAC

U.S. Trying to Move Forward After Quitting Iran Nuclear Deal

After leaving the Iran nuclear deal, Washington wants to move forward by offering to build a "coalition" to counter the multiple "threats" posed by the Tehran regime—but Europeans intent on saving the 2015 accord may thwart that effort.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday will unveil a new "diplomatic roadmap" for Iran—how America plans to "address the totality of Iran's threats," according to the State Department's director of policy planning, Brian Hook.

Washington is looking to draft a "new security architecture and a better security framework, a better deal," Hook told reporters ahead of the speech, the first major policy address by Pompeo since he became America's top diplomat.

"The US will be working hard to put together a coalition," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, flagging Washington's bid for a multilateral approach after its unilateral withdrawal from the accord.

President Donald Trump has long trashed the deal with Iran—concluded under his predecessor Barack Obama, together with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia—saying it did not do enough to curtail Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The Republican leader also said it did not go far enough in restricting Iran's ballistic missile program, or its intervention in regional conflicts from Yemen to Iraq and Syria.

"We need a new—a framework that's going to address the totality of Iran's threats," Hook said.

So far, the guidelines of this new strategy are unclear.

The big unknown is whether European leaders, who were bitterly disappointed by Trump's decision to ditch the deal, would be willing to return to talks with his administration any time soon.

For now, the European Union is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.

Punishment Strategy

The re-establishment of the US sanctions that were lifted after the Iran nuclear deal was signed will force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States.

In reality, there is no choice—European companies cannot afford to forsake the US market And with investment from Europe—which had been the main carrot dangled before the Iranians to right their struggling economy—now stymied, Tehran may have little incentive to hold up its end of the bargain.

The Europeans have tried to squeeze a little flexibility out of Washington to help out their firms, but to no avail. 

"They tell us, 'We want the sanctions to hurt, there won't be any exemptions,'" said one European official.

Some in the US administration are calling for a "North Korea scenario," meaning the imposition of sanctions so severe that they force Iran back to the negotiating table. 

By reimposing the sanctions, Washington aims to "bring economic pressure to bear on Iran," Hook said. 

"It was economic pressure that brought the Iranians to the table a few years ago."

But Jake Sullivan, a former Obama administration official who is now a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said "the idea that we are going to be able to reconstruct sanctions at the same level (as 2015) is a flawed concept."

"The more aggressive the US is in telling the Europeans basically, 'We have you under our thumbs,' the more the Europeans are going to say: 'We will find any means we possibly can to not let you do that to us,'" he said Friday.

Washington has meanwhile sought to downplay the differences with its allies. 

"We agree with the Europeans on much, much more than we disagree on," said Hook, citing "a lot of progress" during talks with Paris, London and Berlin that aimed to find solutions to Trump's concerns. The US official also mentioned French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal of a "new deal," based on the 2015 accord, but offering a broader strategy on
Iran. 

But those negotiations, and Macron's proposal, pre-dated the abrupt US withdrawal from the accord. Are they still on the table? And how could an accord be reached now if it was impossible 10 days ago?

"We are waiting to see more details," said a European official. 

Another European official warned: "But if it is a question of building a coalition to push for regime change in Iran, the Europeans won't be on board."

For Sullivan, the next phase is one in which "the punishment is the strategy—squeezing Iran and keeping them in the penalty box for as long as possible, and as much as possible, with the hope of regime change, but if it's not regime change, (then) a weaker regime."

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

EU Moves to Shield EU Firms From US Sanctions Against Iran

The EU launched formal steps Friday aimed at sparing European firms fallout from US sanctions on Iran as part of efforts to preserve the nuclear deal with Tehran.

The move to invoke the "blocking statute" had received the all-clear at a meeting of European Union leaders in Sofia on Thursday as the transatlantic rift deepened.

The European Commission, the EU executive, said Friday it "launched the formal process to activate the blocking statute by updating the list of US sanctions on Iran falling within its scope."

US President Donald Trump last week controversially pulled Washington out of the 2015 international deal with Iran that placed limits on its nuclear program in return for easing economic sanctions.

The "blocking statute," which EU member states and the European Parliament must still endorse, is aimed at easing the fears of European companies that invested in Iran after the deal.

"The blocking statute forbids EU companies from complying with the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions, allows companies to recover damages arising from such sanctions from the person causing them, and nullifies the effect in the EU of any foreign court judgements based on them," the commission said.

The commission said it hopes to have the measure in force before August 6 when the first batch of US sanctions take effect.

The commission also launched "the formal process to remove obstacles for the European Investment Bank (EIB) to decide under the EU budget guarantee to finance activities outside the European Union, in Iran," the executive said.

"This will allow the EIB to support EU investment in Iran," it added, noting the measure could help small and medium-sized companies.

The "blocking statute" is a 1996 regulation originally created to get around Washington's trade embargo on Cuba, which prohibits EU companies and courts from complying with specific foreign sanction laws, and says no foreign court judgments based on these laws have any effect in the European Union.

However, the Cuba row was settled politically, so the blocking regulation's effectiveness was never put to the test, and its value may lie more in becoming a bargaining chip with Washington.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

EU to Launch Moves to Block US Sanctions on Iran Friday: Juncker

The EU will on Friday begin moves to block the effect of US sanctions on Iran in the bloc, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said, as part of efforts to preserve the nuclear deal with Tehran.

"We will begin the 'blocking statute' process, which aims to neutralize the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions in the EU. We must do it and we will do it tomorrow morning at 10:30," Juncker said at a summit in Sofia on Thursday.

The European Union is trying to find ways to keep Iran in the 2015 accord by safeguarding the economic benefits Tehran gained in return for giving up its nuclear program, after US President Donald Trump abruptly pulled out of the deal.

The "blocking statute" is a 1996 regulation originally created to get around Washington's trade embargo on Cuba. 

It prohibits EU companies and courts from complying with specific foreign sanctions laws and says no foreign court judgments based on these laws have any effect in the EU.

But the row with the United States over the Cuba embargo was settled politically, so the effectiveness of the blocking regulation has never been put to the test.

Its value may lie more as a bargaining chip with Washington than its legal effectiveness, and last week an EU source acknowledged that the "political symbolic effect is potentially bigger than the economic effect."

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

Denmark's Maersk Tankers Ends Iran Shipping After US Reimpose Sanctions

Danish shipping group Maersk Tankers on Thursday said it would cease its activities in Iran due to the US's decision to leave a landmark nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions against Tehran. 

Maersk Tankers would honor customer agreements entered into before May 8, but then wind them down by November 4, "as required by the re-imposed US sanctions," the company told AFP. 

A former subsidiary of the Danish maritime group AP Moller-Maersk, Maersk Tankers was in October 2017 sold for $1.17 billion to APMH Invest, a subsidiary of the investment A.P. Moller Holding. 

The nuclear deal, reached in July 2015 between Iran and Germany, China, the US, France, Britain and Russia, called for Tehran to freeze its nuclear program in exchange for getting some international sanctions against the Islamic Republic lifted. 

Washington announced in early May that it would withdraw from the agreement and reimpose sanctions against Tehran. 

Iran's oil exports amounted to one million barrels a day, mostly to Asia and some European countries, before sanctions were lifted. They have since climbed to 2.5 million barrels.

Photo Credit: Maersk