Socio-Economics History Blog

Socio-Economics History Blog

Iran Announces Deadline for Europe to Salvage Nuclear Deal

by mosesman
Miguel Arias Canete (L), European Union Energy Commissioner, during a meeting with Iranian officials in the capital Tehran on May 19, 2018. Iran said it would wait to see whether Europe produces tangible results in overcoming US sanctions before deciding whether to stay in the nuclear deal, as a top EU official visited Tehran to present plans to maintain trade ties. AFP / STR
  • Iran Announces Deadline for Europe to Salvage Nuclear Deal
    by The National 
    Tehran says EU mechanisms must be in place before US sanctions take effect
    Iran has announced the new deadline it expects European nations to meet if they are to uphold the nuclear agreement and salvage it after US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the pact between Tehran and world powers earlier this month.
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    “The EU’s adopted mechanisms…should be enforced by August 8, when U.S. sanctions begin to take effect,” Iranian TV quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, as saying.
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    The European Union has moved to reassure Iran that it remains committed to upholding the nuclear pact that traded limits on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of crippling international sanctions on the Iranian economy.
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    EU energy chief Miguel Arias Canete delivered the message on a visit to Tehran and also said the 28-nation EU, once the biggest importer of Iranian oil, hoped to strengthen trade with Iran.
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    “We have sent a message to our Iranian friends that as long as they are sticking to the (nuclear) agreement the Europeans will…fulfill their commitment. And they said the same thing on the other side,” Mr Arias Canete, European Commissioner for energy and climate, told reporters after talks with Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi.
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    Mr Salehi said it would be disastrous if EU efforts fail to preserve the 2015 deal, in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most Western sanctions. “The ball is in their (EU leaders) court,” Mr Salehi said. “We hope their efforts materialise”.
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    The European Union took formal steps Friday to shield its firms from US sanctions on Iran as part of efforts to save the international nuclear deal with Tehran. EU leaders meeting Thursday in Bulgaria gave the European Commmission, the bloc’s executive arm, the all-clear amid a deepening rift with Washington.
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    The commission said Friday it “launched the formal process to activate the blocking statute by updating the list of US sanctions on Iran falling within its scope”.

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