EU foreign policy chief: Renegotiation of the Iran deal is not an option
By Federica Mogherini November 7 at 1:38 PM
Federica Mogherini is the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.
President Donald Trump’s decision not to certify the Iran nuclear deal has consequences only in the U.S. — for the moment. But American lawmakers are now in a crucial position: their next moves will have a significant impact on the security of the U.S. and its allies in Europe, the Middle East and the rest of the world.
One thing is clear: renegotiation is not an option. I say this out of realism and experience. It took us 12 years to agree on extremely dense and complex technical details in a process that required all outstanding issues to be tackled in parallel. Unilaterally reopening discussions on this or that paragraph is simply impossible.
This is a matter of principles and credibility. The Iran deal is endorsed by a resolution of the United Nations Security Council, and we — both in Europe and in America — have always believed in the universal respect of international norms as a fundamental pillar of the international system.
With tensions running high around North Korea’s nuclear program, the world cannot afford another nuclear crisis. The nuclear agreement with Iran is working: it has ensured that Iran’s nuclear program is and will remain exclusively peaceful. Everyone who cares about our common security — Europe, the U.S., and friends and partners in the Middle East — should work to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran.
The deal is not based on trust. It is based on the most intrusive monitoring regime ever set up in history. The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has performed hundreds of inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities — including some unannounced. The IAEA, the only body with the mandate and the authority to verify compliance with the deal, has confirmed eight times that Iran is respecting all its nuclear-related commitments.
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