Europe powers urge deescalation over Iran nuke tension

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain and the EU foreign policy chief on Tuesday urged all parties to “act responsibly towards deescalating ongoing tensions regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.”

In a joint statement, they expressed “deep concern that Iran is pursuing activities inconsistent with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA),” the formal name for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The International Atomic Energy Agency “has now confirmed that Iran has started enriching uranium above the maximum allowed limit stipulated in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the statement said.

“We express deep concern that Iran is not meeting several of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” it added.

Underlining Iran’s statement on being willing to remain within the agreement, the statement said the country “must act accordingly by reversing these activities and returning to full JCPoA compliance without delay.”

“These compliance issues must be addressed within the framework of the JCPoA, and a Joint Commission should be convened urgently,” it said.

“We call on all parties to act responsibly towards deescalating ongoing tensions regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.”

Iran confirmed Monday it had breached the 3.67% limit of uranium enrichment set by the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to destroy its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%.

Tensions have been rising between the U.S. and Iran since May 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the deal.

The U.S. has since embarked on a diplomatic and economic campaign to put pressure on Iran to renegotiate the agreement, as well as other Iranian activities Washington considers to be "destabilizing."

As part of its campaign, the U.S. has re-imposed sanctions on exports of Iranian crude oil, which have tanked the Iranian economy.