The leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, and France said they will stand by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and have called on Tehran to fully comply in the wake of back-and-forth strikes between Iran and the United States.
“It is essential that Iran return to full compliance with its commitments under the agreement. We have expressed our deep concern at the actions taken by Iran in violation of its commitments since July 2019. These actions must be reversed. We reserve recourse to all the provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) to preserve it and to resolve the issues related to Iran’s implementation of its JCPoA commitments within its framework,” the statement read.
President Donald Trump and his administration have argued that the 2015 nuclear deal, in which Iran was supposed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, gave the regime more financing and ability to increase terrorism in the Middle East. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both said Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on U.S. assets in the region before his death was ordered.
“We must address—through diplomacy and in a meaningful way—shared concerns about Iran’s destabilizing regional activities, including those linked to its missile programme,” the European leaders’ statement said.
But on Jan. 10, the Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced a bevy of new sanctions on eight Iranian officials and Iran’s manufacturing sector.