EU charts path separate from US on Iran

With the Trump administration bent on tweaking a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, European states are charting a course on Tehran which diverges from that of Washington.

According to Press TV, British Prime Minister Theresa May was the last of the European leaders, who affirmed commitment to the Iranian nuclear deal this week.

“We must stand firm in our support for the … deal,” she told reporters in the Jordanian capital Amman on Thursday on the last leg of her Middle East tour that had already taken her to Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Trump set off alarm bells around the world when he refused to certify the Iran deal in October, ordering Congress to impose new, illegal sanctions on Iran, and warning that he might cancel the accord outright when the issue rolls around again in January.

Those threats have been scaring investors but the Europeans are working with their Iranian peers to find creative ways in order to keep trade links in place.

Earlier this week, Iranian officials traveled to Rome where they discussed the path forward in commercial ties, without factoring the United States in the business.

“The train is going forward. The world is a lot greater than the United States,” Fereidun Haghbin, director general of economic affairs at Iran’s foreign ministry, was quoted to have told the meeting.

Risk worth taking

Even the venue of the meeting carried a message. Italy is Iran’s biggest European trade partner, with the two countries raising trade to over 2 billion euros last year.

According to figures by Italy's ministry of foreign affairs, Italian exports to Iran rose to 1.55 billion euros last year which compared with 1.15 billion euros in 2014, the last full year when sanctions against Tehran went into effect.

Imports from Iran increased more dramatically over the period, jumping from 440 million euros to 1.05 billion euros, an increase of nearly 140% in two years.

Nevertheless, the Iranians are not content and the country’s officials want the Europeans to goad their firms and banks into action in dealing with the Islamic Republic. 

Many European companies have adopted a wait-and-see approach toward trade engagement with Iran amid US fears but EU officials agree that it is time to move forward no matter what.

SS