Mogherini's responsibility for JCPOA
In the past days, some news has been spread about European troika aliging with the U.S. in the way of dealing with the nuclear agreement of July 2015 between Iran and Sextet.
The German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel explicitly stated that Germany is ready to cooperate with US, UK, and France to more exert pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran to force Iranians to comply with their nuclear commitments.
Even beyond that, some media have relayed that Trump administration officials have been extensively negotiating with the heads of the three European countries for returning Iran to the table of talks. Bloomberg news outlet has reported that Trump is determined to take advantage of the UN General Assembly to lobby and negotiate with European officials to finalize the idea of renegotiating the nuclear deal.
According to what has been announced by Western news outlets, the UN General Assambly will be held in New York next week and Trump will meet with leaders of France and Britain to supposedly ask them to talk Germany into calling for renegotiation of the nuclear deal. Previously, France and Britain have already stated their readiness for re-doing the nuclear talks.
Two American diplomats have already said that their French and British counterparts have voiced readiness to ratchet up pressure on Iran for the flaws in the nuclear agreement.
Meanwhile, Mogherini has just very recently re-expressed support for the JCPOA. Addressing the European Parliament plenary session, she said on Tuesday that the JCPOA “has shown to the world that with patience, perseverance, diplomacy and political will, nuclear non-proliferation is indeed achievable.”
But now the question is till when will these generalized speeches of Mogherini and other European leaders in support of the JCPOA go on? Is not it really the time for EU’s explicit support in action rather than speech? Federica Mogherini European foreign policy chief who simultaneously chairs the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has done nothing in response to the violations of the nuclear agreement by the US (both under Obama and Trump administrations).
The same assertion can be made about the officials of the three European countries involved in the nuclear agreement. Currently, Mogherini has kept silent over the released news about the conspiracy of the officials of US and European troika who are seeking renegotiation of the nuclear deal. Undoubtedly, any effort for renegotiating the nuclear deal means infringing the agreement. At such a situation Iran’s right of protesting or even leaving the nuclear agreement is reserved.
Mogherini should accept that she and her companions have failed in the test for protecting the nuclear agreement. Her silence over US de facto violation of the JCPOA (especially in the case of passing new anti-Iran sanctions by US congress which is against the article 29 of the agreement) cannot be simply ignored. For sure, if she keeps failing practicing her duties in preserving the nuclear agreement, her lip service to the deal will be of little value.