The upcoming Munich Security Conference could serve as a platform for the renewal of commitment to the Iran nuclear deal as senior representatives from countries supporting the landmark agreement will be present, IRNA wrote in a report published on Tuesday.
The 55th edition of the conference, which runs from Feb. 15-17, will be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as representatives of other European countries, the United States, Russia and China.
Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif will also participate in the event, which will discuss a wide range of issues, including the European Union’s self-assertion, transatlantic cooperation, the future of arms control, the threat of escalating power rivalries and the effects of climate change and technological innovations on the international security.
EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, will attend the conference, according to the conference’s website.
Iran nuclear agreement and the launch of the new financial channel for continued trade between Iran and Europe known as INSTEX are expected to feature in the conference.
The reimposition of US sanctions against Iran has not had the “dramatic effect on Iranian attitudes” that the White House had hoped for, the Munich Security Report 2019 says
This refers to the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges that European powers have set up to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and avoid US sanctions, which were reimposed following US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 multinational nuclear accord.
Deep Fissures
The report maintains that differences of opinion between Europe and the US on various issues, including the nuclear agreement, will come into the spotlight as highlighted in the newly released Munich Security Report.
The 2019 report criticizes the US “disdain for international institutions and agreements”, saying that it has repeatedly pitted America against its major allies in recent years.
“What these allies see as the only way to tackle global problems, Trump rejects as ‘the ideology of globalism’. On many issues of high importance to them—from the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal to the INF Treaty—many of Washington’s traditional allies have tried to make the case for renewed US commitment. At best, they have just felt ignored. At worst, they have felt treated as competitors or rivals, rather than allies and partners with legitimate concerns and interests,” it said.
The report also said studies indicate that the reimposition of US sanctions against Iran has not had the “dramatic effect on Iranian attitudes that the White House had hoped for”.
The conference in Munich could also act as a counterbalance to the global conference on the Middle East, particularly Iran, which Washington plans to jointly host with Warsaw on Feb. 13-14.
“The Munich Security Conference, which will be held right after the US-sponsored conference in the Polish capital Warsaw, will bring together participants who, unlike America, support JCPOA and expansion of relations with Iran,” IRNA wrote, using the nuclear deal’s full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
