On Thursday, the United Kingdom, France and Germany called upon US President Donald Trump to preserve the infamous nuclear deal with Iran, hours before his official announcement on the position the US will adopt in the future.
The US Congress requires the President to periodically certify Iran’s compliance with the terms stipulated in the deal and the next deadline is set for Friday 12 January. Additionally, the President, upon certification, signs a waiver allowing US sanctions to remain suspended.
Bearing in mind that Trump has relentlessly criticized the Iran deal, as being “the worst deal ever negotiated”, the three European Foreign Ministers stressed its importance, as being the only viable alternative. The change in US foreign policy has put major strain in transatlantic relations as the EU member states, Russia and China are also signatories to the deal.
“We agree on this approach, we want to protect (the deal) against every possible decision that might undermine it,” Germany’s Sigmar Gabriel said alongside his French and British counterparts and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini after meeting Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Iranian FM Zarif expressed his opinion that there was broad consensus within the EU that Iran was following the agreement to the letter, and as such, any undermining move would be viewed as unacceptable.
Mogherini also echoed the same sentiment by underlining that the deal is working, as Iran’s nuclear program is currently in check and under close surveillance. European countries are banking on the deal, as many began investing in Iran after the sanctions were lifted.
The certification of the deal comes at a difficult time for Tehran with the raging anti-government protests, which have left 21 people dead and hundreds –if not thousands- arrested. The protests were driven by spiking unemployment and inflation rates, as the average Iranian household has not yet benefited from the lifting of the sanctions as per the nuclear deal.