The US policy of maximum economic pressure on Tehran is working but the sanctions do not give Iran the right to breach its nuclear commitments, a senior US official said on Monday.
US Special Representative on Iran Brian Hook made the remarks in an interview before a meeting with senior French, British and German diplomats in Paris to convince them the White House's policy of crippling sanctions was the best way to get Iran back to the negotiating table.
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"We are dedicated to this policy of maximum economic pressure because it is working, it is denying the regime historic levels of revenue," Hook told Reuters.
The meeting also comes with Iran that is on course to reach the maximum amount of enriched uranium it is allowed to have under a 2015 nuclear deal that includes three European powers, Russia and China.
When asked about Iran possibly breaching those restrictions, Hook said it was clear there would be consequences and that despite the US pullout from the accord in 2018 and subsequent sanctions, it was not an excuse to violate the accord.
"Our sanctions do not give Iran the right to accelerate its nuclear program. It can never get near a nuclear bomb. We are looking very closely at that so it doesn't get below the one year nuclear break-out time."
Hook said he would share his views in Paris on Iran's "nuclear blackmail."
President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 pact last year under which Iran accepted curbs on its nuclear program in return for a removal of sanctions. Iran has claimed it wants to abide by the deal but cannot do so indefinitely as new US sanctions mean it is receiving none of the benefits.
The prospect that Tehran could soon violate its nuclear commitments, a week after Trump called off airstrikes on Iran in response to its downing of a US drone at the last minute, has created additional diplomatic urgency to find a way out of the crisis.
Iran had set Thursday as a deadline beyond which it would exceed the threshold for stockpiles of enriched uranium allowed under its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.
However, Trump said of Iran on Friday: "We have a lot of time. There's no rush."
"They can take their time. There's absolutely no time pressure. I think in the end, hopefully, it's going to work out. If it does, great, and if it doesn't, you'll be hearing about it," he said as he greeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a summit of the G20, an international forum for governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the EU in Osaka.
Other world leaders gathered in Japan continued to express concern about Iran, even as Trump appeared relaxed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the Persian Gulf region was "standing at a crossroads of war and peace," calling for calm and restraint and talks to resolve the issue.
"China always stands on the side of peace and opposes war," state news agency Xinhua paraphrased Xi as saying in Osaka. "All parties must remain calm and exercise restraint, strengthen dialogue and consultations, and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability."
European Council President Donald Tusk, also at the G20, expressed concern about Iran potentially breaching the pact, saying the European Union would continue to monitor Tehran's compliance.
"We strongly urge Iran to continue the full implementation of all its commitments under the nuclear deal, and we take very seriously the possibility of any breach of its commitment," he told a news conference.
"Maintaining the nuclear deal is in the regional and international security interest," Tusk said. "The EU is committed to the deal as long as Iran continues to uphold it."
One diplomat in Vienna, which serves as the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear agency, said on Thursday: "They haven't reached the limit ... It's more likely to be at the weekend if they do it."
The European powers are scrambling to protect trade with Iran but what they can achieve pales in comparison to US sanctions aimed at slashing Iran's vital oil exports to zero.
In Osaka, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her summit meeting with Trump on Friday would cover a wide range of topics including trade, investments, West Africa, counterterrorism and Iran.
Trade between Germany and Iran has collapsed under the impact of US sanctions, according to data published by the Funke media group, supporting Iran's assertion that Europe is failing to help preserve the nuclear non-proliferation deal it signed.
Data from the German Chamber of Commerce showed that trade volumes between Iran and Europe's largest economy were down 49% over the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2018, with volumes continually declining.
The fall – to a total volume of €529 million – shows the impact of sanctions that punish companies doing business with Iran by depriving them of access to the US market.
The latest data, showing that German exports to Iran were down 49% in the same period to €450 million, lend weight to Iran's insistence that Europe's efforts are having too little impact for it to be worth Tehran sticking to the agreement.
But the escalating crisis has put the United States in the position of demanding its European allies enforce Iranian compliance with an accord that Washington itself rejects.
France said it would ask Trump to suspend some sanctions on Iran to make room for negotiations to defuse the escalating confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
"I want to convince Trump that it is in his interest to reopen a negotiation process (and) go back on certain sanctions to give negotiations a chance," French President Emmanuel Macron said in Japan on Thursday.
Hook said Tehran had spurned US advances about talks.
"We've offered many carrots, and a year ago we made clear that if Iran behaves like a normal nation and not a revolutionary cause then we will lift all our sanctions."
