Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is visiting Europe to meet senior officials to press for the fulfillment of their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.
He met Italian officials, academics and media people in Rome on Thursday and was to travel to Poland and Spain on the next leg of his European tour, IRNA reported.
“We will talk with European countries about [measures to] withstand the United States’ sanctions,” he told the news agency before the meetings, adding that the discussions would especially include the financial mechanisms proposed by the European Union to safeguard mutual trade.
The nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed between Iran and the six world powers in 2015 has been muddled by the US departure in May and its reimposition of sanctions against Tehran.
Nevertheless, Iran has remained in the pact and other signatories have vowed to save it without the US by upholding Iran’s interests.
“Iran has carried out its obligations under the JCPOA and expects the EU to fulfill its economic duties along with its political commitments because their measures have given rise to any operational solution so far,” he said in a Thursday meeting with Italian journalists and researchers in Rome.
Major Setback
According to several EU diplomats, the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle, an EU initiative to protect trade with Iran against US sanctions, is facing a possible collapse in the absence of a European country willing to host the operation for fear of provoking a US penalty.
This is while the second round of US sanctions targeting the key oil and banking sectors has already come into force.
The EU’s executive, however, has vowed to find a solution reassuring that “the bloc would not be cowed by US sanctions”.
Araqchi also noted that by withdrawing from JCPOA, the US has violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear accord.
“America has not confined itself to abandoning the deal, but is encouraging other states to violate Resolution 2231 as well,” he said.
He pointed out that JCPOA is a security and anti-proliferation agreement and the US pullout has challenged the security of Europe and the region as well as international order.
The top diplomat also met Elisabetta Belloni, secretary-general of the Italian Foreign Ministry, and Sebastiano Cardi, Italian Foreign Ministry’s director general for political and security affairs.
The two sides agreed to continue consultations and use innovative ideas to facilitate trade, especially between their small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Belloni said Italian firms are willing to continue cooperation with their Iranian partners and European governments are determined to remove obstacles to these ties.
“Europe is making efforts to minimize the risks of sanctions facing companies that do business with Iran,” she was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Weapon of Coercion
Araqchi reminded his Italian counterparts that “[The US] dollar has become a weapon for America to impose its illegitimate demands on its European partners and has practically challenged their national sovereignty”.
In a separate meeting with Marta Grande, president of the Foreigner and European Affairs Committee of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies, Araqchi pointed to the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran’s activities.
“For the 13th time, the IAEA has confirmed the peaceful nature Iran’s nuclear program… the US has left JCPOA with no reason and logic,” he said.
Grande said cooperation with Iran in West Asia is definitely a priority for the government in Rome.
“Europe is determined to work with Iran within the framework of JCPOA and is currently considering all the aspects of financial mechanism to fix its flaws,” she said.
Vito Rosario Petrocelli, the head of Italian Senate’s Foreign Committee who also met Araqchi on Thursday, said the Italian Senate supports the landmark nuclear pact “as a major achievement for global stability”.
The Iranian diplomat emphasized that in return for its commitment to JCPOA, Iran expects that its people enjoy the deal’s benefits.
“It is a direct responsibility of Europe to take practical steps for upholding JCPOA in the face of US withdrawal from this international agreement and violation of the UNSC resolution,” he said, urging EU leaders to prevent the US from abusing financial and monetary tools as a weapon to impose its unilateralism on the international community.
