The United States threatened on Sunday to impose sanctions on European companies that do business with Iran, as the remaining participants in the Iran nuclear accord stiffened their resolve to keep the agreement operational.
U.S. President Donald Trump's pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal has upset the U.S.'s European allies, cast uncertainty over global oil supplies and raised the risk of conflict in the Middle East.
So far, Iran and the five other powers that reached the deal – China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K. – are remaining in the accord without the U.S.
In an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was "hopeful" that the U.S. could strike a deal with its European allies regarding Iran's nuclear program.
"The withdrawal wasn't aimed at the Europeans. I worked hard over the short time I've been the secretary of state to try and fix the deal. We couldn't reach an agreement with our E3 partners," he said, referring to Britain, France and Germany.
"I am hopeful in the days and weeks ahead we can come up with a deal that really works, that really protects the world from Iranian bad behavior, not just their nuclear program, but their missiles and their malign behavior as well."
Pompeo also addressed security concerns ahead of the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, saying, "We are aware of the situation on the ground" and the U.S. has taken actions to "reduce the risk."
White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said U.S. sanctions on European companies that maintain business dealings with Iran are "possible" and "depends on the conduct of other governments."
Speaking with CNN, Bolton did not say whether Trump might seek a "regime change" in Iran, or whether the U.S. military would be ordered to make a pre-emptive strike against any Iranian nuclear facility.
"I'm not the national security decision-maker," Bolton said. He added that Trump "makes the decision and the advice that I give him is between us."
Bolton said Europe was still digesting Trump's decision to exit the 2015 accord.
"I think at the moment there's some feeling in Europe – they're really surprised we got out of it, really surprised at the reimposition of strict sanctions. I think that will sink in; we'll see what happens then," Bolton said.
Despite the U.S. exit, Britain and Iran on Sunday expressed their commitment to ensuring that the accord is upheld, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday after speaking with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
"Britain and its European partners remain committed to ensuring the nuclear deal with Iran is upheld and Tehran must continue to meet its obligations under the pact," a statement by May's office said.
"Both leaders agreed on the importance of continued dialogue between the two countries, and looked forward to the meeting of U.K., German, French and Iranian foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, speaking in Dublin, said: "We are stakeholders [in the deal] and will remain so."
Germany said it would spend the next few months trying to persuade the U.S. administration to change its mind.
However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that protecting European companies from potential U.S. penalties could be difficult.
German Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier said on Sunday that Berlin would try to "persuade the U.S. government to change its behavior."
In an interview with ZDF public television, Altmaier said the United States had set a 90-day deadline for foreign firms to comply with the return of sanctions and that this period could be used to convince Washington to change course.
The White House said Trump had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday and "reiterated the need for a comprehensive deal that addresses all aspects of Iran's destabilizing activity in the Middle East."
In a tweet on Sunday, Trump wrote, "Remember how badly Iran was behaving with the Iran deal in place. They were trying to take over the Middle East by whatever means necessary. Now, that will not happen!"
