European Union foreign ministers stand by nuclear agreement
European Union foreign ministers stand by the historic nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, saying the accord is working and is a key part of non-proliferation efforts.
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The union’s foreign ministers held a closed-door meeting, chaired by EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, on the best way to proceed on the Iran issue in Luxembourg on Monday. The meeting came three days after US President Donald Trump refused to formally certify that Iran was complying with the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement.
While Trump did not pull Washington out of the nuclear deal, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the pact. Reimposing sanctions would put the US at odds with other signatories to the accord and the European Union.
The top EU diplomats urged US lawmakers not to reimpose sanctions on Tehran and warned against the serious consequences for regional peace of a failure to maintain the international agreement backed by the UN Security Council.
“As Europeans together, we are very worried that the decision of the US president could lead us back into military confrontation with Iran," German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters.
After the meeting, the foreign ministers issued a statement, expressing their determination to fully implement the international nuclear agreement.
“The EU is committed to the continued full and effective implementation of all parts of the JCPOA,” the statement said.
It added that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had certified eight times that Iran was living up to its commitments under the JCPOA. The deal has also been certified twice in the United States since Trump took office.
