EU Determined to Ensure Iran Gets Nuclear Deal’s Benefits

The European Union’s top diplomat says the bloc will press ahead with efforts to ensure Tehran’s interests under the nuclear deal to uphold the agreement as an achievement of multilateral diplomacy, which is crucial to the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture.
In an address to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, defended the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers, namely Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, citing the need for “a solid multilateral architecture for non-proliferation”.
Under the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and later reinstated sanctions against Iran. The remaining signatories of the deal, including the EU, are adopting measures to prevent the hard-earned settlement from unraveling.   
“Our collective security requires a solid multilateral architecture for non-proliferation and disarmament. This is why the European Union will continue to work to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran,” said Mogherini, according to the website of the European External Action Service.
She stressed that the deal is a contribution to collective security and is a way to prevent nuclear proliferation.
Some western powers claim that Iran’s nuclear program might have had military dimensions, but Tehran says its activities have always pursued peaceful purposes such as power generation and medical applications.
"Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments has been confirmed in 14 consecutive reports of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the latest verification result of which came out just a couple of weeks ago," Mogherini said.

Essential Part 

Alongside Iran’s implementation, the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is an essential part of the deal so we will continue to work to preserve the economic dividends of sanctions lifting, she added. 
Mogherini also said the EU has serious issues with Iran’s behavior on other issues, starting with ballistic missiles, human rights and the regional dynamics. 
“But with no nuclear deal, any discussion with Iran would be much more difficult, not easier. Dismantling a deal that works will never be a good starting point to advance our collective security interests,” she said.
Tehran has made it clear that its defense programs are indispensable and non-negotiable in view of serious security threats against the country and that its regional activities are well justified as its backing for anti-terror campaigns across the region has been requested by the allied governments in Iraq and Syria, whose countries have been gripped by fierce militancy. 
In her speech, Mogherini vigorously championed multilateralism and said the European Union and the United Nations were born out of the same founding idea after the two world wars: the idea that in order to avoid yet another catastrophe, a multilateral mechanism is needed to work toward win-win solutions as the only alternative to a new continental and world war.
“Our support for the UN and for multilateralism is a choice based on our values. At the same time, it is a pragmatic choice. A decision taken in a multilateral context is by definition more democratic and more inclusive, and therefore more robust and more sustainable over time,” Mogherini concluded.