Despite failing to fulfill commitments, the European Union continues to support JCPOA politically

Tabnak – While persistently declaring support for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, the European countries are yet to fulfill their actual commitments to preserve the deal. However, at the political level, discussions over the nuclear deal has led to continues criticism of the United States by the European Union.

In this vein, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says the bloc will not allow any foreign meddling - even from its closest ally - in its legitimate trade ties with other countries amid US attempts to kill Europe's business relations with Iran following its withdrawal from a multilateral nuclear deal.

In a recent interview with the Saudi-based Arab News daily, Mogherini stressed the EU's resolve to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) despite the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“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. We do this because of our collective security,” she said.

The top EU diplomat also defended the JCPOA, saying that the accord “is delivering precisely on that purpose.”

“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,” she added.

Mogherini further emphasized that the bloc will not accept any foreign interference in its trade relations with other countries.

“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,” she said in remarks targeted at the US pressure on Europe to cuts its trade dealings with Iran.

She also rejected speculation that economic or trade considerations were what motivated the EU to keep the multilateral agreement in place. “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,” Mogherini said.

The top European official’s remarks come as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said recently that Tehran will not stand by for Europeans to fulfill their commitments under the JCPOA.

"The Europeans are acting slowly in the fulfillment of their commitments under the nuclear agreement," Zarif said in an interview with Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network on Dec. 24, adding, "We will not wait around for them unless they adopt practical steps."

The top Iranian diplomat emphasized that the Islamic Republic has many option to deal with the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and would consider them based on its national interests.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA. Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal. He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country. The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.