EU Reaffirms Support for Effective JCPOA Enforcement

Foreign Ministers of the European Union reaffirmed the bloc’s support for the effective implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal in their last Foreign Affairs Council of the year, according to the EU foreign policy chief. 
“My role as Coordinator [of the negotiations], and the work of my team, is following a tasking from the United Nations. We will continue trying to do our best,” Josep Borrell said in remarks after the foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, the EU external action service reported on its website. 
The nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was signed between Iran and the six world powers and lifted international sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. 
The JCPOA unraveled when the United States pulled out in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions that prompted Tehran to exceed the limits of the deal in response. 
Negotiations began early last year in Vienna, Austria, with the EU as coordinator, to work out how both sides can resume compliance. 
The talks, however, have been stalled for months over final differences between the two sides. 
Borrell stressed the need to keep on efforts to restore the deal despite the obstacles. 
“And in spite of the fact that the nuclear deal remains in a stalemate and the escalation of Iran’s nuclear program is of great concern, we have to continue engaging as much as possible in trying to revive this deal,” he said. 

Two Different Things 

In the meantime, the EU foreign ministers on Monday imposed new sanctions on Iran over what they called a crackdown of protests and alleged drone deliveries to Russia for its war on Ukraine. 
They added twenty individuals and one entity to the bloc’s sanctions list over claims of human rights abuses, while four more people and as many entities were added in relation to drone charges.
“In the new package of sanctions for human rights violations, we are targeting those responsible for this continued repression against protesters,” Borrell asserted, adding this underlines the EU’s so-called support for the Iranian people. 
Iranian cities have seen unrest following the death of a young girl in police custody in September, which later developed into violent clashes between rioters and security forces, claiming the lives of around 200 people, according to Iranian sources. 
Tehran blames the West for provoking violence and inciting the youth to advance their own political agenda. 
The Islamic Republic has also recently executed two people involved in deadly actions during the turmoil. 
“We consider unacceptable the use of capital punishment as a tool to repress the protestors,” Borrell said amid Iran’s strong criticism of Western states for their intervention in the country’s domestic affairs based on fabricated information. 
The West also accuses Iran of supplying arms for Russia, which Iran rejects, although asserting that a small number of drones had been delivered to Moscow months before the onset of the Ukraine conflict.
“Iran claims these drones were sent to Russia before the start of the war, but these sanctions represent a strong message on Iran,” Borrell said. 
The EU top diplomat, however, maintained that the issue of recent sanctions has to be considered apart from the nuclear deal. 
“They are two different things,” he said. 
“The JCPOA is not just the European Union and Iran … it is something that goes further, many others are involved.” he added.
Borrell said the JCPOA is in a difficult situation due to the current developments, but “I think that we do not have a better option.” 
“This remains in our own interest. This is why, I still believe that we have to separate the sanctions on human rights and arms provision to Russia from the nuclear program the escalation of which is of great concern.”