French Foreign Minister Criticizes US Return to Sanctions Against Iran

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Foreign Minister, criticized the US government's action on Thursday, May 9, for reinstating sanctions and punitive measures against foreign companies that have business relations with Iran. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, announced on Tuesday that the US would withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA, and in addition to reinstating suspended sanctions on Iran, new penalties would be imposed on Tehran. In this context, the US Treasury Department has given foreign companies that have commercial ties with Iran a six-month deadline to end these collaborations. According to AFP, Jean-Yves Le Drian emphasized that the US has called on European companies to cease cooperation with Iran without negotiating with the European Union. He also stated that Washington should negotiate with European allies regarding sanctions that may affect European companies contracting with Iran. The French Foreign Minister said, 'We believe that the US's extraterritorial sanctions are unacceptable.' He added that Europeans should not bear the cost of the US's withdrawal from an agreement in which they themselves played a role. Jean-Yves Le Drian asserted that European countries would strive to protect their companies' interests and would negotiate with the US on this matter through the European Union. While Donald Trump announced the US's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, prior to this, European leaders had been trying to persuade the US to remain in the JCPOA. In this context, a US State Department official stated yesterday regarding economic relations and cooperation between Europe and Iran that the US government 'encourages its European allies to reduce investments in Iran.' Andrew Peek, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs at the US State Department, specified: 'Given the extensive influence of the IRGC in the economic sphere and the amount of money spent on [Iran's] negative activities abroad, we are trying to tell Europeans that their economic decisions create major problems, as they empower the Iranian government.' Meanwhile, Iranian officials are demanding that Europeans provide 'practical guarantees' to remain in the JCPOA. In this context, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, is scheduled to meet next week in Brussels with the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France, and the EU's foreign policy chief to discuss the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).