The European Union must take measures to protect core provisions of the nuclear deal with Iran, EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview on Saturday.
“The termination of the Iran agreement by the US doesn’t benefit global peace,” he told the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper, adding that “As co-architects of the Iran deal, we must defend its core,” Sputnik reported.
He said the 2015 pact to have Tehran wind down its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions easing should not be sacrificed for the sake of US domestic political expediency.
Cusp of Turmoil
“The Middle East is on the cusp of great turmoil. And we are close,” he cautioned.
The agreement was negotiated by UN Security Council permanent member states – Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, the United States – and Germany. US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from it last month, saying he wanted a broader pact.
The other parties have said they would try to salvage the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, after Iran gave the Europeans some grace period to come up with “binding guaranties”.
EU, S. Korea Talks on JCPOA
Meanwhile, the European Union and South Korea stressed the importance of continuing with the “full and effective” implementation of the JCPOA in light of the recent US withdrawal.
This was expressed during a phone conversation between EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Foreign Minister of South Korea Kang Kyung-wha, according to a statement released by Mogherini’s office Saturday.
The EU foreign policy chief underlined that the EU remains committed to this as long as Iran continues to implement its commitments, which it is doing, and also informed the South Korean minister of the measures being taken by the EU to ensure continued economic relations with Iran.
This is while South Korean “Daelim Industrial Co”, a major construction company, canceled a deal worth $2.2 billion with an Iranian oil refinery company in Isfahan city on Saturday. On Friday and in similar remarks, Mogherini, who helps oversee the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal, said the EU and other partners are working “in full coordination” to save the pact.
Speaking alongside Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, she said that “The full continued implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran, that has been the result of twelve long years of diplomatic work, is a key issue on which cooperation between China and the European Union is essential.”
