Germany and partners meet in Vienna to save Iran deal
May 25, 2018
As the US renews sanctions against Iran, officials from China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany met in the Austrian capital to discuss the nuclear accord. Iran says it wants to keep doing business with the world.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Punz
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In the aftermath of the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear accord of 2015, the remaining signatories met for the first time on Friday in Vienna to try to save the deal.
China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany have expressed their commitment to maintain the JCPOA, but with new US promises to unveil "the strongest sanctions in history,"a solution has not yet been found on how to minimize the collateral damage that international business would face as a result of US sanctions.
Iranian leaders have also expressed their commitment to the deal and to abiding by strict curbs on their nuclear program, but only if the remaining powers are able to ensure that Iran can keep doing business with the world, despite US sanctions.
"Our main concern is the banking system, insurance and transportation," Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said.
In Vienna, European powers agreed to present Iran with a plan to offset the fallout of US withdrawal from the deal and the renewed sanctions by May 31. Iranian deputy minister Abbas Arghchi said that Iran will then decide whether to stay or withdraw from the JCPOA, based on what the European powers propose.
"For the time being we are negotiating... to see if they can provide us with a package which can actually give Iran the benefits of sanctions-lifting and then the next step is to find guarantees for that package and we need both legal and political commitments by the remaining participants in the JCPOA (deal)," Araghchi told reporters.
"We got the sense that Europeans, Russia and China... are serious and they recognize that the JCPOA's survival depends on the interests of Iran being respected," Araghchi added.
The European Union has already launched legal mechanisms to shield European businesses with Iranian ties from US sanctions. The bloc is currently working on measures such as banning EU-based companies from complying with re-imposed US sanctions and urging governments to make money transfers to Iran's central bank to avoid fines.
A senior Iranian official had expressed his country's worry prior to the meeting, saying that currently, the JCPOA "is in the intensive care unit, it's dying."
But Araghchi emerged from the talks expressing some optimism about the possibility that a solution could be found: "I am more confident than before the meeting," he told reporters.
Russian delegate Mikhail Ulyanov echoed Araghchi's tone. "We have all chances to succeed, provided that we have the political will."
Ulyanov commented on the US exit from the deal, affirming that the JCPOA was a "major international asset" that was not the property of the US, but instead "belongs to the whole international community."
Iran nuclear deal — treaty under threat
A year after Donald Trump pulled the US from the international nuclear accord with Iran, the Middle East nation announced it would no longer adhere to some "voluntary commitments" in the accord.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/D. Calma
The deal breaker
President Donald Trump announced on May 8, 2018 that he was pulling the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, arguing that the international accord was not in America's "national interest." The decision threw a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the nuclear accord and raised tensions with US allies in Europe.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Slap in the face
Britain, France and Germany lobbied the Trump administration and Congress to remain in the nuclear accord, arguing that the deal was working and a US violation without a follow up plan would be destabilizing. In European capitals, the Trump administration's withdrawal was viewed as a slap in the face of allies.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
Iran scrap 'voluntary commitments'
A year to the day after Trump's announcement, Iran informed the other signatories of the accord that they would no longer adhere to certain "voluntary commitments." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the signatory nations had 60 days to implement promises to protect Iran's oil and banking sectors or Iran would resume the enrichment of uranium.
The decision came after the United States deployed an aircraft, the USS Lincoln, along with a bomber task force to the Middle East. Washington said the deployment was intended as a "clear unmistakable message." Iran said it took action because the European Union and others "did not have the power to resist US pressure."
Image: AP
A triumph of diplomacy
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed in 2015 by United States, China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain (P5+1) and Iran following years of negotiations. Under the international agreement, Iran agreed to dismantle its nuclear program and be subject to monitoring in exchange for the lifting of international nuclear related sanctions.
Image: picture alliance / landov
Compliance and verification
The JCPOA includes a robust monitoring, verification and inspection regime carried out by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The UN watch dog has verified Iran's compliance with the deal in 12 quarterly reports. The JCPOA allows Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear program for commercial, medical and industrial purposes in line with international non-proliferation standards.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Schlager
Obama's achievement
The Iran nuclear deal was President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievement. Seeking to undo nearly every Obama administration legacy, Trump came into office calling it the "worst deal ever." The Trump administration argues the nuclear deal doesn't address other unrelated issues such as Iran's ballistic missiles, regional influence, support for "terrorist" groups and human rights.
Image: Reuters/Y. Gripas
Iranians approved
The nuclear deal and lifting of punishing nuclear related international sanctions created optimism in Iran after years of economic isolation. However, even before Trump pulled the US out of the deal, Tehran blamed the US for holding back international investment and not fulfilling its end of the bargain due to the uncertainty created by Trump's threats.
Image: picture alliance/AA/F. Bahrami
The opponents
After eight years with Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found the US president he wanted in Donald Trump. The Israeli leader repeatedly slammed the deal despite his own military and intelligence chiefs' assessment the that JCPOA, while not perfect, was working and should be maintained. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the other main opponents of the nuclear deal.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Who's left?
The EU-3 (Britain, France, Germany) have scrambled to ensure that Iran receives the economic benefits it was promised in order to avoid Tehran pulling out of the deal. As EU businesses face retaliation from the US for doing business with Iran, many are opting to avoid Iran. This would likely be a present to Chinese and Russian businesses.
