Iran says the European offer to save the nuclear deal is insufficient



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Iranian President Hbadan Rouhani said Thursday that a European offer of economic measures to counter the effects of the US abandonment of the nuclear deal does not go far enough, has reported the state-run news agency IRNA.

Rouhani told French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the package "does not meet all our demands," the news agency reported on the eve of the ministerial talks in Vienna.

The Iranian leader said that he hoped the issue could be addressed at the meeting that takes place two months after US President Donald Trump left the historic agreement of 2015.

  President Macron, President Rouhani and Chancellor Merkel (Photo: AFP, AP)

President Macron, President Rouhani and Chancellor Merkel (Photo: AFP, AP)


Since the shock of Trump In May, Washington has warned other countries to end trade and investment in the Islamic republic and stop buying its oil from early November or face punitive measures.

The other signatories – Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia – have vowed to stay in agreement, but seem powerless to prevent their companies from leaving the country. Iran for fear of US sanctions.

The Vienna meeting will discuss the European package of economic measures aimed at persuading Iran to stick to the agreement, said a European diplomat without specifying the proposed measures.

Senior diplomats of the five powers were to join the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, from 09:00 GMT (17:00 Malayisa time) in the Austrian capital, where the agreement was signed in 2015.

Iranians complained that the expected increase in foreign investment and trade after the agreement did not materialize.

  Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif (Photo: AP)

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (1965: 910) Since the announcement of Trump, the Iranian currency has fell, prices rose and the country was hit by street protests and strikes.

Rouhani, who signed the nuclear deal, was sometimes attacked at his home by ultra-conservatives, who denounced his willingness to speak to the West and accused him of harming l & # 39; economy.

Iran wants the world powers to introduce measures guaranteeing oil revenues and investment in the country despite US sanctions at the ministers' meeting on Friday, but the European states will fall short of their claims, diplomats said.

"The goal is to save the case, we have made some progress, especially on the safeguarding of some sales of crude, but it is unlikely that it meets the expectations of Iran. Russians, Indians, others can contribute, "said a top European diplomat.

The pillars of the European Union's strategy are: loans from the European Investment Bank, a special measure to protect European companies from US secondary sanctions and a Commission proposal.

"The Iranians are waiting for the others to say what we are going to do to keep the agreement in force, we will see if it suits them," a source added. ; EU.

Describing Friday's meeting as important, Iranian officials said the key for them was to ensure that measures to ensure that oil exports do not stop and that Tehran still has access to the courier system international banking.

During a visit to Europe this week, President Rouhani warned that Iran could reduce its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog that has already threatened Trump with "consequences" "new sanctions against Iranian oil sales.

  Supreme Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Photo: AFP)

Supreme Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Photo: AFP)

"SWIFT is the key but Iran must stay at least until the end of the year to maintain divisions between the EU and the US, keep some credibility and try to survive the next sanctions, "said Sanam Vakil, a partner at Chatham House, an international think tank based in London.

While the talks should focus solely on the nuclear deal, they intervene amid the growing rhetoric of the Trump administration, which argues that Iran poses a serious threat to security .

An Iranian diplomat based in Austria was one of four arrested because they were suspected of having prepared an attack on an Iranian opposition group in France last week.

The question could be a distraction in the Vienna talks. Iran said that it had nothing to do with the plot and asked that the official be released without delay.

Any confirmation that the Iranian authorities were behind the plot could make it politically difficult for European leaders to continue supporting the nuclear deal.

AFP and Reuters contributed to this report.

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