Germany is Discussing New Sanctions Against Iran with Its European Allies

Germany is consulting with its European allies to impose new sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to prevent the United States from withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Reuters reports that the German magazine Spiegel announced this news in its issue on Saturday, January 19. The report cites diplomats stationed at the European Union headquarters in Brussels, stating that Germany, along with Britain and France, is seeking to impose new sanctions on Iran to show the United States that Washington's European allies take Donald Trump's criticisms of Tehran seriously. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry and a government spokesperson have declined to comment on this report. The reasons cited in Spiegel's report for punishing Iran by Germany and its European allies include Iran's ballistic missile program and Tehran's 'interventions' in the internal affairs of Middle Eastern countries, including Yemen and Syria. Most importantly, Europeans are looking to prevent the United States from exiting the nuclear agreement with Iran and six world powers that was reached in July 2015. Last week, Maria Adebahr, spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry, stated that European officials are set to sit down with American counterparts to 'see what goals and requests Mr. Trump's statements have in mind.' Donald Trump has given Congress and European parties four months to correct the 'catastrophic flaws' of this agreement, or Washington will withdraw from it. He, who has held power in the U.S. for a year, has been a staunch opponent of the JCPOA since his election campaign, describing it as 'the worst deal' he has ever seen. However, Trump's administration has so far adhered to the 120-day deadline three times to extend the suspension of sanctions resulting from this agreement. Although he warned on January 12 that he would abandon this policy in four months unless the flaws in the agreement are addressed. Trump has expressed readiness to cooperate on drafting a bipartisan resolution, outlining four components for Congress to sign in this regard: 'Immediate inspections of all facilities requested by international inspectors in Iran; ensuring Iran does not approach nuclear weapons; making Iran's restrictions in the nuclear agreement permanent; and finally, that Tehran's ballistic missile program and nuclear weapons are inseparable.' Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that they will not accept any changes to the nuclear agreement and are not willing to renegotiate it. Despite this Iranian stance, European countries that have close trade relations with Tehran and are serious supporters of the JCPOA have suddenly shifted their policy in recent days, stating that they are 'carefully reviewing' the statements of the U.S. President. Among them, Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, announced on January 16 that EU members are consulting with each other on how to respond to Donald Trump. Russia has also joined the recent disputes over the JCPOA, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warning on January 18 that if the U.S. withdraws from the JCPOA, the Iranian nuclear agreement will not last. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, stated that if you want the U.S. to take the nuclear agreement seriously, the EU and the international community must take Iran's behaviors seriously and prevent issues such as the Islamic Republic's missile program and its 'support for terrorism.' In this context, U.S. lawmakers Peter Roskam and Liz Cheney introduced a bill on January 18 titled 'Iran Freedom Policy and Sanctions Act,' which would increase restrictions on Iran's nuclear and missile programs.