Ex-Iran Ambassador: EU and USA have no disagreements over Iran
A former high-ranking Iranian diplomat believes: “In a situation where Trump seeks to create a gap between Iran and the EU with the adoption of an aggressive stance towards Iran, last night’s statement by the EU is in line with keeping a unified foreign policy among its member countries.” The EU issued a statement yesterday titled “Iran: Council adopts conclusions” in which they expressed their continued support for the JCPOA. They encouraged Iran to adopt the FATF action plan and expressed serious concerns about Iran’s regional activities, human rights, and missile program. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has dismissed the claims as baseless.
Former Iranian Ambassador to China and Switzerland, Seyed Mohammad-Hossein Malaek, says in an interview: “In the context of developments between the JCPOA signatories, two principles apply: “Firstly, the agreement must be considered as dead following the US withdrawal, and secondly Europe suffered a lack of credibility on a global level. Europeans believed that they were doing the right thing until they became frustrated after a negative reaction from Trump.”
He continued: “Nevertheless, the EU and USA have no disagreements over Iran. Europe is not Iran’s nursemaid and it does not agree with its behavior and political system. Therefore, Pompeo’s radical 12-point preconditions are not far from the European mind. The only difference is their approaches towards Iran. The EU believes that they must iteract in a constructive way with Iran to bring about reform in its political system. But, Washington believes that the system is so cracked that it will fall apart with the slightest pressure.”
The political analyst reiterated: “The fact is that there are deep political rifts between the US and the EU. Iran and Instex are but one. Other disagreements include NATO, the unrests in France, political changes in Germany, and Brexit. Trump is seeking to divide Europe into three sections and lead them to take differing stances on Iran. But last night’s statement was issued with the aim of keeping unity between EU member countries.”
Speaking about the impact of the statement serving as a pretext for Europe not to fulfill its commitments under the JCPOA, Malaek said: “The JCPOA is considered a unilateral agreement introduced by Iran. Europe kept to the part it had committed to. But they may not wish to continue with it in two or three years. Iran is happy that it has annulled the six UNSC resolutions adopted against it and made political-legal gains. But in practice, the nuclear deal has not benefited Iran economically. Europe has no need for pretexts to abrogate its commitments. Overall, the West has encapsulated its stance towards the IR of Iran in its statement; because, the way Iran handles the points outlined in the statement can redefine the balance of power in the world.”
Malaek commented on Mogherini and Zarif's remarks following the signature of the JCPOA on high-level talks between Iran and the European Union, by saying: “In my opinion, these promises are misleading to the internal politics of Iran and cannot be realized by the Foreign Ministry. For instance, what else did Araghchi’s recent trip to Europe achieve apart from Instex? Therefore, promises made in the negotiations are false ones and will bear no results.”
Source: Persia Digest