It is unlikely that European powers will be able to finalize an economic package for Iran before November that would salvage the 2105 nuclear deal, and Iran must stop threatening to renege on its commitments under the accord, France's foreign minister warned on Friday.
"They [the Iranians] must permanently stop threatening to break their commitments to the nuclear deal," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio before leaving for talks in Vienna aimed at salvaging the floundering nuclear accord.
"They must stop the threats so that we can find the solutions to provide Iran with the necessary economic compensations," he said.
Le Drian said the European powers, along with Russia and China, are working on coming up with a financial mechanism to mitigate the tough sanctions the U.S. plans to impose on Iran following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear accord in May.
"We are trying to do it before sanctions are imposed in August, and then another set of sanctions in November. ... August seems a bit short, but we are trying to do it by November," he said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas echoed the French sentiments later Friday, saying that world powers will not be able to fully compensate Iran for the business lost as a result of new U.S. sanctions, but also warning Iran that abandoning the nuclear deal will cause more harm to its economy.
"We will not be able to compensate for everything that arises from companies pulling out of Iran," told reporters before the Vienna talks.
He said that while he believed the meeting would end positively, it is likely more negotiations will be needed on the issue.
Meanwhile, an Iranian official indicated that Iran expects full compensation from world powers.
"We are ready for all possible scenarios. ... The collapse of the deal will increase the tension in the region. ... To save the deal, other signatories should compensate for U.S. sanctions," a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday.
