[ad_1]
French President Emmanuel Macron's diplomatic adviser held talks in Tehran with the aim of rescuing the 2015 nuclear deal and easing tensions between Iran and the United States.
The agreement between Iran and the world powers, the Joint Global Action Plan (JCPOA), provided for the relief of sanctions and economic benefits in exchange for Iran's reduction of its nuclear program.
In May, the United States unilaterally rescinded the agreement, exposing other partners (France, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and China) to sanctions.
Last November, Britain, France and Germany tried to save the deal by creating the Instex trading mechanism, which would allow European companies to avoid the sanctions imposed by the United States when they trade with Iran.
But the mechanism is still not operational six months after its launch and Tehran is increasingly frustrated by Europe's inability to act effectively.
Tehran now says it has moved away from the rules of the JCPOA two steps: last week, breaking the ceiling of 300 kilograms of enriched uranium stocks. Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), also announced that uranium enrichment levels had exceeded 4.5%, while the JCPOA allows such enrichment at 3.67%.
The 4.5% uranium is used in nuclear power plants; To be considered dangerous in a nuclear weapon, the uranium must be enriched to 90%.
Lost patience
Tehran says it has lost patience with the perceived inaction of European countries more than a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the deal.
"Iranians continue to negotiate with the EU to convince them that they must respect their obligations," said Mohammad Marandi, a professor of international relations at the University of Tehran.
"Iran will not agree to continue to honor its commitments while the Europeans do not do so with respect to their own commitments".
European companies involved in trade relations with Iran have been hit hard by the US decision to ditch the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions.
"The French car manufacturer Peugeot held about 30% of the Iranian market," says Thierry Colville, Iranian specialist at the French Institute of International Relations and Strategies.
The sovereignty of Europe at stake
In the oil sector, the French company Total has been forced to cancel a gas agreement with a billion euros with Iran.
"Thus, for some sectors, the withdrawal from the Iranian market has represented a huge cost for European companies."
But Colville thinks that France is now fighting for the sovereignty of Europe.
"The US's right to pressure European companies by saying" you have a choice between the US and Iranian markets "is simply unbearable from the point of view of sovereignty," he said. pointing out that the primary goal of attempts to agree is to curb the spread of nuclear material. "People who say that Europe wants to save the transaction just for commercial profits are completely wrong.
"If you look at the data, European exports to Iran account for 0.5% of total European exports outside Europe. This is not an economic problem for Europe.
"It's a strategic question about nuclear non-proliferation. This is a strategic problem for Europe. That's why Europe wants to save the deal, "he said.
Positive spin
Meanwhile, Colville and Marandi are pessimistic about a positive outcome that could put the JCPOA back on track.
"Despite the fact that Macron has tried to give a positive spin to its initiatives, pessimism is at the rendezvous," says Marandi.
"For the Iranians, we must act. Europeans have been discussing for over a year now, they have said positive and positive things about the nuclear deal. But they violated each of the commitments made under this nuclear deal. "
Colville agrees: "It will be difficult, because what the Iranian side wants is clearly a lower level of sanctions. They want normal economic relations with Europe and with the rest of the world. Unless France can give a guarantee to Iran in this regard, I do not see the Iranians changing strategy to gradually abandon the JCPOA, "he said.
Source link
