World powers and EU hit back at Trump over repudiating IRAN Nuclear Deal.
Dr Seyed Navid NasirpourOsgoei
Senior Lecturer at De Montfort University
Iran and the international powers that signed the nuclear deal have hit back strongly at President Donald Trump’s repudiation of the landmark pact. Germany, France, the UK , Russia, China rallied together with the EU late on Friday in support of an agreement they said boosted international security by stopping Iran from building atomic weapons.
“We can’t afford as an international community to dismantle a nuclear agreement that’s working and delivering especially now,” Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said in Brussels.
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First a short summary of President Trump's latest International and National decisions:
- Withdrew from Paris Climate Agreement.
- Withdrew from UNESCO.
- Withdrew from The Trans Pacific Partnership
- Building Mexico Wall.
- Rolling back President Obama's Affordable Care Act .
- Re-negotiating NAFTA agreement.
- Travel Ban on Iranian Nation.
- Decertifying the UN/EU and IRAN Nuclear Deal
- and etc.
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Snt. Bob Corker says Trump 'utterly untruthful president'
Former Secretary of State John Kerry: Trump creating an 'international crisis' by threatening Iran nuclear deal
"President Trump's decision today is dangerous," Kerry said in a statement Friday. "He's creating an international crisis. It endangers America's national security interests and those of our closest allies."
"I can't tell you why the President can't acknowledge what the [International Atomic Energy Agency], our allies, and the adults in his own cabinet all know to be true: Iran has lived up to its end of the nuclear agreement, and as long as they continue to do so, we and our allies are infinitely more secure than we would be without it," he added. "But whatever his reasons, the reality is that by destabilising the agreement, the President weakens our hand, alienates us from our allies, empowers Iran hardliners, makes it harder to resolve North Korea, and risks moving us closer to military conflict."
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Britain, Germany and France committed to Iran nuclear deal, says PM May's office.
The leaders of Britain, Germany and France have declared their backing for the Iran nuclear deal renounced by President Donald Trump, saying it is "in our shared national security interest.
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Joint statement was issued by Prime Minister Theresa May and President Jean-Claude Juncker
They discussed their common interest in preserving the IRAN nuclear deal and their work on strengthening the security of citizens in Europe, notably on the fight against terrorism. They also prepared for the European Council that will take place later this week.
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Putin: Russia will support Iran nuclear deal even if US withdraws
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin will continue to support the Iran nuclear deal, despite suggestions that Donald Trump’s White House may withdraw its support.
“We are going to support this deal,” he said. “We are going to support the deal concluded with the previous US administration, although as you know we had many differences with them on other issues.”
Mr Trump has described as an “embarrassment” the 2015 agreement in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief, which was signed by European countries, Russia and China and endorsed by the UN Security Council. “It is not Russia that defines or predetermines that Iran is in compliance with its commitments, that is for the IAEA,” Mr Putin said in Moscow. “According to IAEA reports, as of now all other countries are in compliance.” “We are very much respectful of the national interests of Iran.”
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Beijing will cooperate with other countries to ensure agreement stays in place even if Washington withdraws from it
The assessment came after Trump on Friday defied both US allies and adversaries by refusing to formally certify that Tehran is complying with the accord even though international inspectors say it is.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between Iran and the six world powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States is important for international security governance as it has helped defuse the Iran nuclear crisis and has bolstered the international non-proliferation regime with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as its bedrock, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
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EU Foreign Ministers Agree to Stand by Iran Nuclear Deal
LUXEMBOURG 16/10/2017: European foreign ministers on Monday attacked President Donald Trump’s decision to pull his administration’s backing for the Iranian nuclear agreement, calling the move a serious mistake that could lead to a military confrontation with Tehran.
After a closed-door meeting chaired by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on how best to proceed on the Iran issue, the ministers issued a joint statement saying the 2015 deal was key to preventing the global spread of nuclear weapons. “The EU is committed to the continued full and effective implementation of all parts of the JCPOA,” it said, referring to the ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’, the formal name of the accord with Iran agreed in July 2015 in Vienna.
“Non-proliferation is a major element of world security and rupturing that would be extremely damaging,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters. “We hope that Congress does not put this accord in jeopardy.” Mogherini said she would travel to Washington early next month to try to muster support for the accord.
The UN "International Atomic Energy Agency" (IAEA) also says Iran is complying with its commitments under the accord, which Trump has branded “the worst deal ever negotiated”.
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UN chief hopes Iran nuclear deal will survive
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “very much hopes” the nuclear deal with Iran can be salvaged, a spokesman said Friday, as President Donald Trump was set to decertify the 2015 agreement.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres considers the deal to be a “very important breakthrough to consolidate nuclear non-proliferation and advance global peace and security.”
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25 Former Foreign Ministers Urge Congress To Uphold Iran Deal
Former foreign ministers from a diverse group of countries have asked the U.S. Congress to uphold the nuclear deal with Iran known as JCPOA.
In an open letter addressed to congressional leaders published on Wednesday, they said that it was now upon Congress to keep the U.S. compliant with the the agreement. “We urge you to uphold the agreement, and not to take any unilateral action that seeks to expand, alter or renegotiate the terms of the JCPOA,” the letter reads.
The letter has been signed by 25 former top diplomats from various countries, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Joshka Fischer of Germany, Hubert Védrine of France, Malcolm Rifkind of UK, and Shlomo Ben-Ami of Israel who had met as part of Aspen Ministers Forum.
The writers pointed to President Donald Trump’s refusal to re-certify the agreement and reminded that senior U.S. national security officials have affirmed that Iran is meeting its commitments.
They said this conclusion is also shared by the members of 5+1 group – Britain, China, France, Germany, the European Union, and Russia, and the International Atomic Energy Agency which is in charge of monitoring and verifying Tehran’s compliance with the JCPOA. The letter warned the United States about unilateral withdrawal from the agreement and said it would have “far-reaching adverse consequences for the security of the United States and America’s standing in the world.”
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Japan has become the latest country to announce its support for a landmark nuclear agreement reached between Iran and six other countries in 2015, amid almost singular opposition by the United States administration.
The foreign minister of the Asian economic powerhouse Japan, called his Iranian counterpart on Monday to say that Japan supported the deal, according to NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting organisation. Foreign Minister Taro Kono of Japan also told Iran’s Mohammad Javad Zarif that it was important for Iran to play a constructive role in regional stability.
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Boris Johnson to urge Donald Trump to keep Iran nuclear deal
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaking at the Chatham House London Conference. Boris Johnson urges D. Trump to show the "farsightedness " not to quit the Iran nuclear deal, arguing it illustrates the kind of "diplomatic imagination" that could solve the North Korea crisis.
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Julie Bishop warns Donald Trump
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has said there is a "powerful argument" that US President Donald Trump's threat to scrap the Iran nuclear deal could imperil efforts to negotiate a peaceful outcome with North Korea.
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References:
The Wall Street Journal , Chicago Tribune , Reuters , CNN , UK Gov #10 , FT , South China Morning Post , FT , China Daily , The Independent , PRESSTV, Washington examiner, Radio Farda, Independent , The Sydney Morning Herald
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Why IRAN needs Defence System , IRAN FM says:
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PBS News Hour: IRAN nuclear deal will remain valid regardless of U.S. decision, says EU policy chief
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Euro News: EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini reacts to Trump's speech on the IRAN nuclear deal
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CBS News: IRAN FM: White House is "closing its eyes" on the realities of region
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Iranian Foreign Minister in Conversation with Charlie Rose
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