European leaders are actively seeking ways to upgrade the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in an effort to salvage it, The New York Times reported Monday.
According to the report, "President Trump's threat to rip up the Iran nuclear deal has touched off an urgent scramble in European capitals to preserve the agreement – not by rewriting it, but by creating a successor deal intended to halt Iran's ballistic missile program and make permanent the restrictions on its ability to produce nuclear fuel."
The current nuclear agreement, which was incorporated into United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, contains sunset clauses that would lift the restrictions on Iran's nuclear program within 10-15 years. It also makes it virtually impossible for inspectors to visit military sites without getting approval from Iran.
Furthermore, the existing agreement allows Iran to continue maintaining its ballistic missile program.
Trump has recently announced that in May, he plans to re-impose the economic sanctions that were lifted as part of the deal unless the aforementioned "flaws" were fixed.
In January, the German daily Der Spiegel reported that Germany, together with Britain and France, was pushing for new restrictions on Iran's missile program to show the United States that European allies were taking Trump's criticism against Iran seriously and to punish Iran for its destabilizing activity in the region.
According to The Times' report from this week, EU leaders are willing to side with Trump and force Iran to agree to various side deals that would complement the existing arrangement, but they are also "demanding a guarantee that Mr. Trump will abide by the add-on deal after it is negotiated and not jettison it on some other pretext. "
"The Iranians have so far dismissed efforts by the State Department to impose strict new terms on Tehran – or face threats of renewed sanctions if it fails to comply – as a backdoor effort to reopen the original agreement that limits Iran's nuclear program," The Times reported.
According to talking points issued by the State Department to its diplomats around the world, the U.S. wants the Europeans to agree to three fixes: "a commitment to renegotiate limits on missile testing by Iran; an assurance that inspectors have unfettered access to Iranian military bases; and an extension of the deal's expiration dates to prevent Iran from resuming the production of nuclear fuel long after the current restrictions expire in 2030."
But even if the EU finds common ground with the U.S., it will not be easy convincing Iran, Russia and China to sign off on the new agreement, the paper speculated.
"Once a deal is struck with the Europeans, administration officials intend to seek approval from Russia, China and Iran. But concerns that such a deal could not possibly pass muster with Iran will not deter them," the paper quoted a senior official as saying. "Russia and China's lack of participation would also matter little, given the stark consequences for Iran's economy if Europe and the United States re-impose sanctions."
