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Representatives of United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as the European Union made no apparent move to bow to the\u00a0blackmail<\/a>. They urged Tehran, however, to reconsider its decision while rejecting the regime’s ultimatum.<\/p>\n The UPI also reported that the EU and three European signatories to the JCPOA have all\u00a0rejected Iran\u2019s demands<\/a>\u00a0concerning the agreement and the issue of US sanctions. The report quoted a joint statement by\u00a0these three governments and one multinational body as saying, \u201cWe reject any ultimatums and will assess Iran’s compliance on the basis of Iran’s performance regarding its nuclear-related commitments under the (nuclear deal) and the [Nonproliferation of Weapons Treaty].\u201d<\/p>\n The Iranian regime has criticized the EU member states for failure to stand up to the US in the face of diplomatic pressure and rising levels of economic sanctions in recent months.<\/p>\n Much of the criticism on European signatories of JCPOA has focused on the establishment of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (Instex), a joint venture of the UK, France, and Germany which is ostensibly designed to facilitate transactions with the Islamic Republic in defiance<\/a> of the US sanctions. But although the mechanism, also referred to as the European JCPOA<\/a>, was formally established earlier this year, it has yet to become active and there are serious doubts about its practicality. It is also\u00a0criticized as\u00a0a fata morgana<\/a> or false hopes for a mirage rather than\u00a0a silver lining on the horizon.<\/p>\n Tensions between U.S. and Iran have been escalating for a while<\/a>\u00a0following President Trump\u2019s announcement<\/a>\u00a0last year that the U.S. would withdraw the \u201cdeeply controversial<\/a>\u201d 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA, that \u201crewarded the world\u2019s leading state sponsor of terror with $150 billion, but received absolutely nothing in return.\u201d<\/p>\n Calling JCPOA the \u201cworst deal in the U.S. history,\u201d Trump\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0the nuclear deal did not contribute to \u201cregional and international peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier, the U.S. Secretary of State announced that the U.S. would reimpose sanctions if Iran does not abide by its international obligations. This\u00a0was followed by\u00a0re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, most recently against Iran\u2019s metal exports and tightening the sanctions on Iran\u2019s oil exports.<\/p>\n After\u00a0Tehran exhibited defiant attitude\u00a0as part of the mullahs\u00a0desperate strategy<\/a>\u00a0to compel international community to yield to the regime\u2019s bluffs<\/a>\u00a0and empty threats and stand down in order to let the mullahs continue their malevolent behavior and tyrannical rule against the Iranian people\u2019s will,\u00a0the U.S. administration reimposed tough economic sanctions and announced last month that the waivers allowing certain countries to continue importing Iranian oil would not be renewed.<\/p>\n On Sunday, John Bolton, the National Security Adviser to President Trump, announced<\/a>\u00a0that “the\u00a0U.S. is sending an aircraft carrier strike group and bomber task force to the Middle East” after it received a ‘credible threat<\/a>‘ from Iran regime.\u00a0According<\/a>\u00a0to Bolton, the move is intended to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests<\/a> or on its allies will be met with unrelenting force.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command Chief, Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, said the US would counter any dangerous actions by Iran by deploying the necessary resources including the decision to deploy the aircraft carrier and task-force to the Middle East to send a very clear message to the regime in Iran and its allies that any attack it instigates \u201cwill be met with unrelenting force\u201d.<\/p>\n At the same time, Brian Hook, the United States Special Representative for Iran said<\/a> on Wednesday that the U.S. is not seeking war with Iran, but stands ready to respond to any attack on America by the mullahs.<\/p>\n While it remains unclear whether the European signatories to the JCPOA share Washington\u2019s perception of the seriousness of those threats, their response<\/a> to Iran\u2019s ultimatum suggests agreement with the broader message about the regime\u2019s failure to conduct itself properly on the global stage. Accordingly, even as French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on Thursday that it was imperative for the relevant parties to work toward preserving the JCPOA, his recommendations focused on convincing the Islamic Republic to maintain its own commitments, rather than appeasing it with additional incentives for doing so.<\/p>\n According to the Associated Press, Macron continued to express disagreement<\/a> with his American counterpart over the value of the nuclear deal while speaking to the press before an EU summit in Romania. But at the same time,\u00a0he echoed Trump\u2019s sentiment<\/a>\u00a0concerning the need for a much more broad-ranging agreement that addresses Iran\u2019s ongoing development of ballistic missiles and its destabilizing role in the surrounding region.<\/p>\n In addition to teasing its possible withdrawal from the JCPOA 60 days after the announcement of its ultimatum, the Islamic Republic has also threatened that it may pull out of the nonproliferation treaty. Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abbas Araqchi, suggested that such threats were features of a strategy to meet the \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d from the US with \u201cmaximum resistance\u201d by the Iranian regime. But as the immediate European responses indicate, this strategy may put Tehran at risking the crucial support that it enjoys among European partners at the moment.<\/p>\n The specific details of those responses vary, but as Reuters reported on Wednesday, the French government has acknowledged the possibility of either unilateral French sanctions or collective sanctions by the entire EU if Iran ultimately reneges on the JCPOA.<\/p>\n The following day, according to AFP, French army minister Florence Parly had reiterated this point, while the British Foreign Ministry spoke more vaguely but still\u00a0warned<\/a> the Islamic Republic of \u201cconsequences\u201d for actions in defiance of international will.<\/p>\n As we mentioned earlier<\/a>, far beyond Iranian regime’s bluffs and empty threats in the Middle East, one should look into the activities of the regime’s main pillar for repression inside the country, the Terrorist IRGC<\/strong>, that has a long track record of\u00a0terrorist activity on foreign soil<\/a>\u00a0and support for well-known terrorist proxies like Hezbollah, as well as the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS<\/strong>) that has been directly linked to the planning of bombings and assassinations as recently as last year, often targeting Western nationals or Western territory through the logistical backing of the regime\u2019s embassies and under their diplomatic cover.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Iranian-ballistic-missile-750-300x194.jpg\")
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An underlying unity of purpose was also essential to the message of Pompeo who emphasized<\/a> at a conference on Wednesday that the US and Britain were \u201con the same side\u201d concerning the need to address Iranian threats and promote the Iranian people\u2019s freedom from a repressive theocratic regime.<\/p>\n