European leaders try to salvage the Iranian nuclear deal after the US announced its withdrawal
Iran politicians set fire to the US flag in Parliament and chant 'death to America' over Trump's decision to exit nuke deal. Pics/AFP
France's foreign minister said that the 2015 nuclear restraint deal with Iran was "not dead" despite Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out from the agreement, and added that French President Emmanuel Macron would speak later in the day to Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.
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"The deal is not dead. There's an American withdrawal from the deal, but the deal is still there," the minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, told French radio station RTL. The EU is "determined to preserve" the Iran nuclear deal despite the US withdrawal, the bloc's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini has said, pledging to "stay true" if Tehran stuck to its commitments.
The 2015 accord "is delivering on its goal which is guaranteeing that Iran doesn't develop nuclear weapons, the European Union is determined to preserve it," Mogherini said. EU President Donald Tusk said the Iran deal would be on the agenda when the bloc's leaders meet for a summit in Sofia next week. Mogherini made a direct appeal to Iran to stick with the accord after Trump said Washington was ditching what he called a "defective" agreement.
An EU official said the European Commission, the bloc's executive, would meet next week to discuss possible countermeasures to US sanctions. France, Germany and Britain said they were committed to implementing the deal. "Our governments remain committed to ensuring the agreement is upheld, and will work with all the remaining parties to the deal to ensure this remains the case including through ensuring the continuing economic benefits to the Iranian people that are linked to the agreement," said a joint statement.
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