EU Criticizes Iran Over Nuclear Violations
2020-01-15
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1Britain, France and Germany are increasing pressure on Iran to end its violations of an international nuclear deal.
2The Europeans say they want to settle differences through negotiations.
3But they admit the process could lead to a return of United Nations sanctions against Iran.
4The European Union (EU) members and Iran signed the nuclear agreement in 2015.
5Also signing were China, Russia and the United States.
6Britain, France and Germany wrote a letter to the EU's foreign policy chief.
7The letter stated that they had no choice but to use the deal's "dispute mechanism" because of Iranian violations of the agreement.
8The three said they rejected Iran's argument that Iran was justified to violate the deal because the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
9"We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran's actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments," the EU members said in a statement.
10Hours later, Iran's Foreign Ministry warned of a "serious and strong" reaction to the European move.
11However, a foreign ministry spokesman official said Iran was "fully ready to answer any good will and constructive effort" that keeps the nuclear deal in place.
12Iran's official IRNA news agency reported his comments.
13EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell said the pressure from Europe does not mean Iran will face new international sanctions.
14The aim of the move by France, Germany and Britain is "to return (Iran) to full compliance...of this agreement, he said.
15The three countries said that they want to arrive at a solution using "diplomatic dialogue" and made no threat of sanctions in their statement.
16They also tried to distance themselves from the sanctions declared by the United States.
17U.S. officials have said those measures are part of a "pressure" campaign against Iran.
18"Our three countries are not joining a campaign to (put) maximum pressure against Iran," the Europeans said.
19"Our hope is to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments."
20The 2015 nuclear deal is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as JCPOA.
21It seeks to prevent Iran from making a nuclear weapon by setting limits on its nuclear program in exchange for economic actions, such as easing sanctions.
22Iran's government has said it does not want a nuclear weapon.
23Under its dispute resolution mechanism, countries have 30 days to settle their dispute; however, the time limit can be extended.
24If the problem cannot be solved, the issue could be brought to the United Nations Security Council.
25The council's members could decide to re-establish the sanctions that had been removed under the terms of the deal.
26U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. government out of the nuclear agreement in May 2018.
27He said the deal should be re-negotiated because it did not set limitations on Iran's ballistic missile program or its involvement in conflicts in other countries.
28Since then he has put back American sanctions, which have hurt Iran's economy.
29To answer the U.S. decision, Iran has slowly pulled back from the agreement.
30Iran wants to pressure the other countries involved to provide economic incentives to answer the American sanctions.
31China and Russia had been against using the dispute mechanism.
32However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement that the three European countries "could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered."
33"Our goal is clear: we want to...come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement," Maas said.
34With the growing worries that the deal cannot be saved, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is suggesting the agreement could be somehow re-negotiated to answer some of Trump's worries.
35"Let's work together to replace the JCPOA with the Trump deal," he told the BBC.
36I'm Dorothy Gundy.
37And I'm Susan Shand.
1Britain, France and Germany are increasing pressure on Iran to end its violations of an international nuclear deal. 2The Europeans say they want to settle differences through negotiations. But they admit the process could lead to a return of United Nations sanctions against Iran. 3The European Union (EU) members and Iran signed the nuclear agreement in 2015. Also signing were China, Russia and the United States. 4Britain, France and Germany wrote a letter to the EU's foreign policy chief. The letter stated that they had no choice but to use the deal's "dispute mechanism" because of Iranian violations of the agreement. 5The three said they rejected Iran's argument that Iran was justified to violate the deal because the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018. 6"We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran's actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments," the EU members said in a statement. 7Iran's government reacts 8Hours later, Iran's Foreign Ministry warned of a "serious and strong" reaction to the European move. 9However, a foreign ministry spokesman official said Iran was "fully ready to answer any good will and constructive effort" that keeps the nuclear deal in place. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported his comments. 10EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell said the pressure from Europe does not mean Iran will face new international sanctions. 11The aim of the move by France, Germany and Britain is "to return (Iran) to full compliance...of this agreement, he said. 12The three countries said that they want to arrive at a solution using "diplomatic dialogue" and made no threat of sanctions in their statement. 13They also tried to distance themselves from the sanctions declared by the United States. U.S. officials have said those measures are part of a "pressure" campaign against Iran. 14"Our three countries are not joining a campaign to (put) maximum pressure against Iran," the Europeans said. "Our hope is to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments." 15The nuclear deal's dispute resolution mechanism 16The 2015 nuclear deal is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as JCPOA. It seeks to prevent Iran from making a nuclear weapon by setting limits on its nuclear program in exchange for economic actions, such as easing sanctions. Iran's government has said it does not want a nuclear weapon. 17Under its dispute resolution mechanism, countries have 30 days to settle their dispute; however, the time limit can be extended. If the problem cannot be solved, the issue could be brought to the United Nations Security Council. The council's members could decide to re-establish the sanctions that had been removed under the terms of the deal. 18U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. government out of the nuclear agreement in May 2018. He said the deal should be re-negotiated because it did not set limitations on Iran's ballistic missile program or its involvement in conflicts in other countries. Since then he has put back American sanctions, which have hurt Iran's economy. 19To answer the U.S. decision, Iran has slowly pulled back from the agreement. Iran wants to pressure the other countries involved to provide economic incentives to answer the American sanctions. 20China and Russia had been against using the dispute mechanism. However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement that the three European countries "could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered." 21"Our goal is clear: we want to...come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement," Maas said. 22With the growing worries that the deal cannot be saved, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is suggesting the agreement could be somehow re-negotiated to answer some of Trump's worries. 23"Let's work together to replace the JCPOA with the Trump deal," he told the BBC. 24I'm Dorothy Gundy. 25And I'm Susan Shand. 26The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 27Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. 28_________________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30sanctions - n. an action that is taken to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, 31mechanism - n. a process or system that is used to produce a result 32commitment - n. an agreement or promise to do something 33constructive - adj. helping to develop or improve something 34compliance - n. the act or process of doing what you have been asked or ordered to do 35dialogue - n. a discussion or series of discussions that two groups or countries have in order to end a disagreement 36ballistic missile - n. a weapon that is shot through the sky over a great distance and then falls to the ground and explodes 37incentives - n. something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder