Orient Net, March, 19, 2018–France urged the European Union on Monday (March 19) to consider new sanctions on Iran over its involvement in Syria’s war and its ballistic missile programme, as Paris tries to persuade Washington to preserve a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump has given the European signatories a May 12 deadline to “fix the terrible flaws” of the 2015 Vienna accord, which was agreed under his predecessor Barack Obama, or he will refuse to extend US sanctions relief on Iran.
Speaking at a European Union Foreign Ministers meeting, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was determined to ensure that the nuclear accord is respected, noting that Iran might have played a part in the “proliferation of ballistic missiles” in the Middle East.
Highlighting Iran’s role in the “regional crisis,” Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders echoed Le Drian’s concerns and called on additional pressure to be put on Iran.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, who chaired the final stages of the nuclear negotiations that involved Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, stressed that the EU still does not have a formal position on new sanctions.
