adminTHe European Union approved the Iran nuclear deal with world powers yesterday, a first step towards lifting Europe’s economic sanctions against Tehran that the bloc hopes will send a signal that the US Congress will follow. In a message mainly aimed at sceptical voices in the US Congress and strong resistance from Israel, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels stressed that there was no better option available.
“It’s a balanced deal that means Iran won’t get an atomic bomb,” said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “It’s a major political deal.”
Ministers left the details of their endorsement until after a UN Security Council vote scheduled for 9AM EDT (1300 GMT), but have formally committed to a gradual lifting of sanctions along with the United States and the United Nations.
Following the deal in Vienna, Iran has agreed to long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that the West suspected was aimed at creating an atomic bomb, but which Tehran says is peaceful.
The European Union will retain its ban on the supply of ballistic missile technology and sanctions related to human rights, EU diplomats said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister yesterday criticised the United States and Israel for not taking the threat of military action against Tehran off the table following the nuclear deal.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Iran’s top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, as saying the military option remains a very hazardous idea.
“Applying force . . . is not an option but an unwise and dangerous temptation,” he said. Yet, Zarif added, “there are people who talk about illegal and illegitimate application of force” for their own purposes.
He called the nuclear deal reached last week a “victory of diplomacy over war and violence.” — Al Arabiya News
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