EU fails to make progress with US on JCPOA

Jerome Hughes

Press TV, Brussels

While on a visit to Europe, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been discussing the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) with senior EU officials.

For his part, Blinken seemed only interested in spinning anti-Iran rhetoric following meetings at the European Commission, Brussels. "We talked about our shared goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons". Earlier at NATO headquarters, in the Belgian capital, Blinken spoke at greater length on the subject.

Even Iran's harshest critics might find Blinken's position difficult to grasp. After all, it was the US that withdrew from the agreement in 2018 at a time when Iran was in full compliance, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Many analysts believe Joe Biden's administration is bowing to pressure from Tel Aviv to not engage with Iran. It has been suggested, however, that Benjamin Netanyahu does not speak for everyone. The US continues to impose illegal unilateral economic sanctions on Iran despite the JCPOA having been underpinned by the United Nations.

Tehran insists the current deal cannot be renegotiated and the only fair and legal option for the US is to rejoin the accord without preconditions. As the coordinator of the deal, legal experts say the ball is firmly in the EU's court and not Iran's.

According to many analysts, Iran has demonstrated it is unwilling to remain in the JCPOA at all costs. Therefore they say, the EU is clearly running out of time to save this landmark agreement.

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