The European Union will remain committed to the continued and full implementation of the nuclear deal, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday.
"As we have always said, the nuclear deal is not a bilateral agreement and it is not in the hands of any single country to terminate it unilaterally," Mogherini said following US President Donald Trump's statement on the Iran nuclear deal, official website of the European Union reported.
"As long as Iran continues to implement its nuclear related commitments, as it is doing so far, the European Union will remain committed to the continued full and effective implementation of the nuclear deal," she added.
The European Union is fully committed to ensuring that the lifting of the nuclear related sanctions will have a positive impact not only on trade and economic relations with Iran, but also and mainly benefitting the Iranian people, she explained.
"I am particularly worried by the announcement of new sanctions. I will consult with all our partners in the coming hours and days to assess their implications. The European Union is determined to act in accordance with its security interests and to protect its economic investments," Mogherini said.
Trump announced on Tuesday he would reimpose US economic sanctions on Iran to undermine what he called “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made”, Reuters reported.
The 2015 agreement–formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action–worked out by the United States, five other world powers and Iran, lifted some sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program.
Trump claimed that the deal, the signature foreign policy achievement of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 or its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
His decision raises the risk of deepening conflicts in the Middle East, puts the United States at odds with European diplomatic and business interests, and casts uncertainty over global oil supplies. Oil prices rose more than 2% on Wednesday, with Brent hitting a 3-1/2-year high.
A Cause for Regret
The leaders of Britain, Germany and France, signatories to the deal along with China and Russia, said in a joint statement that Trump’s decision was a cause for “regret and concern.”
"France, Germany and the UK regret the US decision to leave the JCPOA," French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter.
"The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake," he added.
"We will work collectively on a broader framework, covering nuclear activity, the post-2025 period, ballistic activity, and stability in the Middle East, notably Syria, Yemen and Iraq."
Germany also reiterated it also wants to uphold the deal. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that "the deal makes the world safer", adding that Germany could find no legitimate reason for pulling out of the deal.
On Twitter, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said he regretted the US no longer taking part in the nuclear deal.
"UK remains strongly committed to the JCPOA, and will work with E3 partners and the other parties to the deal to maintain it," he added.
China said it regretted the move. Its foreign ministry said Beijing would safeguard the deal and called on all relevant parties “to assume a responsible attitude”.
A western diplomat was more pointed.
“It announces sanctions for which the first victims will be Trump’s European allies,” the diplomat said, adding that it was clear Trump did not care about the alliance.
Deal Not Dead
“The deal is not dead. There’s an American withdrawal from the deal but the deal is still there,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
France’s Le Drian said Iran was honoring its commitments under the accord.
“The region deserves better than further destabilization provoked by American withdrawal. So we want to adhere to it and see to it that Iran does too, that Iran behaves with restraint,” he told French radio station RTL. Le Drian said meetings would also be held with firms including oil giant Total and others with major business and economic stakes in the region.
In a harbinger of what could be in store, Trump’s new ambassador to Germany said German businesses should halt their activities in Iran immediately. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Trump’s decision was a mistake and that the United States should not consider itself the world’s “economic policeman”.
Russia Committed to Deal
Russia’s acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia remained committed to the nuclear deal. The Russian Foreign Ministry later issued a statement, condemning Trump’s action.
“The JCPOA is a key multilateral agreement approved by the 2015 UNSC Resolution 2231. The Action Plan does not belong to the United States alone but is a domain of the entire international community, which has repeatedly reaffirmed its interest in the preservation and long-term sustainable implementation of the JCPOA for the sake of strengthening international and regional peace and security as well as the nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the statement read.
