Iran: Europeans regret American decisions

France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union on Saturday regretted the US decision not to extend the exemptions allowing oil transactions with Iran.

In a joint statement, the High Representative of the Union and the French, German and British Foreign Ministers took note of it "with regret and concern". They also regret that Washington has not fully renewed the exemptions for certain non-proliferation projects related to the international agreement on the Iranian nuclear program concluded in 2015.

The Trump administration announced last week that it will stop granting exemptions to Iran's oil importing countries. It also took steps on Friday to force Iran to stop producing lightly enriched uranium and to suspend the development of its only nuclear power plant, while renewing the exemptions allowing Russia, China, France and Great Britain to continue activities aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Their duration, which until now was 180 days, has, however, been reduced to 90.

As part of the international agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, known as the Joint Global Action Plan (GAPA), Tehran is committed to transforming its Arak and Fordow nuclear facilities to make production much more difficult. fissile material usable for military purposes.

Donald Trump denounced the agreement last May, paving the way for the reinstatement of economic sanctions lifted after its entry into force, which put these commitments into question. European signatories have since been trying to save it by circumventing these sanctions, which extend to Tehran's trading partners.

"We remain deeply convinced that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is essential for enhancing stability and security in the Middle East region, and together we underscore our continued commitment to the Comprehensive Plan of Action, a crucial element of the global regime. of nuclear non-proliferation and essential for our shared national and European security, "write the four signatories of the communiqué released Saturday.