Zarif: Talk of Disruption in Europe-US Relations is Wishful Thinking

Iran's Foreign Minister described his discussions in Brussels regarding the JCPOA as a 'good start' and dismissed talk of a disruption in Europe-US relations as 'wishful thinking.' Mohammad Javad Zarif made this statement on Wednesday, May 16, while returning from Brussels, where he met with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Britain, and the EU's foreign policy chief. Despite the US's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, the European parties to the agreement are striving to maintain the JCPOA and are attempting to mitigate the adverse effects of renewed US sanctions on European trade with Iran. However, the Iranian Foreign Minister responded to reporters' questions about US actions 'to nullify' the discussions on Tuesday, stating: 'We speak within the framework of realities; Europeans are allies of the US and are not going to set aside their relations with the US... We are not engaging in wishful thinking that Europe will sever its relations with the US; such a thing is neither possible nor do the Europeans say this, rather we are seeking for Europeans to defend their own interests.' Zarif also added that 'the Europeans have prepared a list of actions that need to be taken to preserve the JCPOA. According to him, this list needs to be operationalized and contain more details so that 'decisions can be made based on how much of Iran's interests it guarantees.' On Tuesday, the Iranian Foreign Minister discussed the fate of the JCPOA with Heiko Maas, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Boris Johnson, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Britain, and Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief. Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters: 'If the JCPOA is to continue, it was a suitable start for action and sent an important political message, but this is not the end of the matter.' The Iranian Foreign Minister referred to the European leaders' summit held on Wednesday in Sofia, Bulgaria, stating that one of the topics of this summit would be the JCPOA. According to Zarif, 'intensive expert meetings' will begin in Europe next week, and Iran will be kept informed during these discussions. The JCPOA Joint Commission, according to Mohammad Javad Zarif, will also convene next week at Iran's request and without the presence of the US. According to Hana Kavyani, a reporter from Radio Farda in Brussels, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, also mentioned that the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels was 'positive and can be said to be an opportunity to agree on a set of action paths.' Next week, a joint commission of the P5+1 will hold a meeting at the level of political deputies. Additionally, Federica Mogherini is set to inform the leaders of 28 countries about the results of her meeting regarding Iran at a dinner in Sofia, Bulgaria. In the meantime, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, condemned the new US sanctions on Wednesday, May 16, calling them a result of compensating for the 'failure' of the US in its unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on May 8, as promised, unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran and announced that US sanctions against Iran would be re-implemented. In response to this decision, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated after Trump's speech that he had tasked the Foreign Ministry to negotiate with European countries regarding the JCPOA so that if Iran's interests are secured, Tehran would remain in this agreement. On Tuesday, coinciding with the Brussels negotiations, the US Treasury added several individuals and entities, including Valiollah Seif, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, to its sanctions list. Steve Mnuchin, the US Treasury Secretary, cited the connection of the Central Bank's financial activities with the 'Quds Force' as one of the reasons for placing the head of this bank on the sanctions list. On Tuesday, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, acknowledged after the negotiations that finding a way to protect European companies from US sanctions is a major challenge. She also emphasized that the EU is determined to overcome this challenge.