Europeans call on Iran not to threaten nuclear deal when Biden arrives
On Monday, France, Germany and the United Kingdom asked the Tehran authorities not to jeopardise the pact on the nuclear programme with their announcements on the development of uranium enrichment now that new prospects for dialogue are opening up with the arrival of Joe Biden at the White House.
In a joint communiqué, the three European countries that are the main supporters of this international agreement signed in 2015 warned that "if Iran is serious about preserving a space for diplomacy, it should not apply these measures".
They refer, on the one hand, to Iran's recent announcement to install three new cascades of advanced centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, which they consider "contrary" to the 2015 commitment and "deeply worrying".
It also refers to a law adopted by Iran's Parliament on 1 January urging the government to take further steps to boost the nuclear programme, in particular by enriching uranium to 20 %.
According to the Europeans, it would also violate the international pact that was signed to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb in exchange for the progressive lifting of economic sanctions against the Tehran regime.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom insisted that, if these initiatives were to continue, "our shared efforts to preserve" the agreement would be compromised. Furthermore, there is a risk of "jeopardising the important opportunity for a return to diplomacy represented by the arrival of the new US administration".
In this respect, the three countries welcomed Joe Biden's statements on the nuclear pact and "on a diplomatic path to address the wider concerns about Iran", which they said was in the interests of all parties.
The assassination at the end of November of the Iranian scientist Mohsen Fajhrizadeh, in an attack of great complexity that Teheran has attributed to Israel, has heightened tension within Iran over whether or not it is appropriate to renounce the pact when a window of opportunity is opened for negotiations with the new occupant of the White House.
