While Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, had promised Iran to do her best to maintain the nuclear deal, we were encountered an unacceptable and even unrecognizable package by the EU authorities.
This package bears almost no results for the Iranian economy, and can in no way guarantee the critical issues such as oil exports and banking transactions. Although coming up with a practical package (at least at the level of Europe’s economic capabilities) shouldn’t take much time, European leaders insist on continuing the negotiations with Iran until November! Regarding the European officials' approach to the nuclear deal, there are some points that can’t be easily ignored:
In 2017, the European troika announced its agreement to making changes in the content of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the inclusion of issues such as Iran's missile and regional capabilities, inspections of our country's military sites and putting permanent restrictions on our nuclear program. The completion of this puzzle presented by the Trump government was not something that would be hidden from the Iranian people. The intensive talks between the experts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the European Union and the United States over "changing the JCPOA" was a sign of the Europeans’ betraying the JCPOA and the Iranian nation. Even Angela Merkel and Emanuel Macron, in their last visit to Washington (before Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA), urged the US president to avoid pulling out of the nuclear deal in exchange for the fulfilment of all his demands. However, Trump was concerned about other issues such as attracting the support of Zionist lobbyists, and thus he was determined in walking out of the nuclear deal. Therefore, the US withdrawal doesn’t suggest the break of "Washington-Brussels" alliance, but rather adds to the European troika accusation: a charge which is definitely no less than the charge of Trump's government in pulling out of the nuclear deal.
It might be imagined that due to the United States withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the joint US-EU project on the JCPOA and its change has come to an end. Though many western sources talk of tensions raised in transatlantic relations, it seems that behind the Western media’s hustle and bustle, something else is going on. The fact is that despite the official withdrawal of the Trump’s government, the Americans and Europeans’ negotiations over how to deal with the nuclear accord are still ongoing. Part of these negotiations are officially conducted during the American officials’ visits to European countries and vice versa. But the most important part of these are conducted in the form of "secret diplomacy" and between the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the ministers of the three European countries. Europe’s recent package of proposals well indicates that the US-EU cooperation on changing the content of nuclear deal has not been halted, but rather entered a new phase after Washington's withdrawal from the JCPOA. "Postponing talks with Iranian officials" by European authorities is entirely in the US interest. On the other hand, the European authorities' refusal of offering their package of proposals until November is totally in line with their strategy of intensifying the "impact of US secondary sanctions" on Iran.
The United States and the European Union are still trying to assemble the pieces of this puzzle together, and draw a single image in opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA shouldn’t be regarded as "the end of this joint project" by the United States and Europe, but it simply means "redefining" it. Distinguishing between the policies of the United States and Europe, and beyond that, labelling the tensions and disputes among Washington and the European troika as "strategic confrontation between America and Europe" is a serious and irreparable mistake in the field of diplomacy and foreign policy of our country. Now is time for our diplomacy system to clearly see and recognize the "signs": Signs such as the offer of a disappointing package by Europe, the Europeans’ effort not to hold negotiations with Iran until August (the time of the introduction of US secondary sanctions), etc. all should be considered as a "warning" for Our officials. Even when the apparent disagreement between US and European officials on the JCPOA, attracts the attention of the proponents of “the nuclear deal as defined by the European authorities", the joint attempt of the West against Iran is slowly and secretly underway.
Twitter: @ghaderi62 - Email: m.ghaderi62@gmail.com
MNA/TT