Is Iran Nuclear Deal Endangered?

• 03.07.2018, 16:59
•  Europe,  America,  Region,  World

CNN

The US Vice President Michael Pens threatened that if the Iran nuclear deal is not revised in the coming months, the US will withdraw from the deal. He stated that Washington will never allow Iran to create a nuclear weapon.

The US, in fact, continues to blame Iran for creating ballistic missiles and supporting terrorist groups. According to the Vice President, US President Donald Trump refrained from imposing new sanctions on Iran in order to prevent the normal course of the negotiation process, but such concessions from the United States can no longer continue. "This is their last chance."

On March 5, the IAEA approved the normal fulfillment of Iran's obligations under the agreement. In particular, it is noted that IAEA employees have access to all nuclear facilities in Iran that should visit and prove that Iran fulfills its commitments.

As for Russia, its position is known and unchanged. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in February that Russia would insist that all parties to the agreement strictly fulfill their commitments, otherwise all will fall into undesirable and unpredictable consequences.

The European Union is also against the US intentions to abolish the nuclear deal. The EU notes that even if the US withdraws from the agreement, they will still remain faithful to the spirit of the agreement.

It should be noted that the discussion of the Iranian nuclear program coincided with the period of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United States. Earlier, Netanyahu announced that the main topic of the talks with the US President would be the "Iran's nuclear program and regional expansion." Is Israel's position affected by US policy?

Thus, EU countries, particularly France and Germany, as well as Russia and China have the same position in Iran's nuclear program that opposes the United States and Israel. It turns out that the United States does not get support from its allies in the region and remains alone in the region, so the US stance is causing additional tension in the Middle East, and maybe the US's influence here is diminishing.

Iran is not indifferent to these mutual accusations. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States and European countries of not complying with its commitments under the Comprehensive Joint Action Plan on Iran's nuclear program and violating its provisions.

Interestingly, the Foreign Minister of Iran continues to blame the European Union, noting that Europe's actions have been conditioned by US policy.

The matter is that in 2015, Iran and the six of the international mediators (Russia, the United States, Great Britain, China, France and Germany) reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program and agreed on a Comprehensive Joint Action Plan. The program envisaged the elimination of financial and economic sanctions against Iran by the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union. However, the current US government, unlike the other five mediators, considers it the worst treaty of the country, that is, Donald Trump's assumption of US presidency has changed the US policy towards Iran's nuclear program.

Apart from sanctions, the current US authorities do not offer anything to end Iran's nuclear program or to ensure a nuclear non-proliferation treaty in general. This, of course, exacerbates tension both in US-Iran, Israel-Iran relations, and between the US and the European partners.