It was also a “hot” issue raised at the recent summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Belgium, and is to be put forth for discussion at the upcoming meeting between the Russian and French leaders on July 15, as well as between the Russian and United States leaders the following day. The US increasing its sanctions on Iran has “touched” the interests of many European countries, prompting their allies to try to save the historic nuclear deal.
In addition to increasing its sanctions against Iran, the US continued to pressure their European allies to support Washington’s stance on Iran’s missile development programme. The US accused Tehran’s ambitions concerning the ballistic missile programme as a threat to both the US and regional security. At the recent NATO summit in Belgium, the leaders of the NATO member countries expressed concern over Iran’s operations in the Middle East, as well as Tehran’s strengthening of missile tests, and the range and accuracy of its ballistic missiles. In return, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasimi, condemned the US’s unfounded allegations and conduct, as well as Washington’s pressure on the NATO members.
Since US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)”, the US has constantly increased pressure on Tehran, regardless of the European allies’ efforts to hold onto the international agreement that had been achieved with numerous difficulties. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, urged their allies to exert economic pressure on Iran, while accusing Tehran of continuing to sell weapons in the Middle East. The US diplomat stressed the need to cut off all the sources of revenue that the Iranian administration are using to fund armed groups in the region, alleging that Teheran has financed 11 attacks in Europe since 1978. In the context that the confrontation between the US and Iran has been under severe pressure from the US sanctions against Tehran, these allegations have worked to add tension to the relationship between the two sides. Iran claimed that the US allegations are part of a “deliberate propaganda campaign and a psychological war against the operations of Iranian embassies overseas.”
Recently, senior officials of the US Department of State completed three days of discussions in Saudi Arabia on the Iranian issue, aimed at developing measures to cut the revenues of the Islamic country. Accordingly, the US will continue to impose sanctions, ensure a stable supply in the oil market and help its partners to find alternatives to oil from Iran if necessary. Although the remaining signatories to the Iran nuclear deal have declared their support for Tehran’s rights to oil and gas exports, the reality shows that European businesses do not dare to confront the US sanctions. Many foreign companies, such as France’s oil and gas group, Total, and Denmark’s shipping company, Maersk, have announced plans to withdraw or narrow their operations in Iran in order to minimise the losses caused by violating the US sanctions. Analysts warn that it is difficult to protect multinational corporations from sanctions due to the operational scopes of the large banks in the US financial system and transactions being made in US dollars. France’s Total lost tens of millions of dollars by abandoning the 11th-phase expansion of the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, as it was not exempt from the US sanctions on Iran. Total Director-General, Patrick Pouyanné, stated that no one could operate in any of the 130 countries across the world without access to the US financial system.
As the third largest oil producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Iran is seeking to attract investment in the oil and gas sector. However, the country promises to face multiple difficulties, especially in its oil exports, as the US increases its sanctions against many of Iran’s individuals and entities. Although the UK, France, and Germany, along with Russia and China, have pledged to maintain their economic ties with Iran, it was not easy for foreign companies to “escape” US sanctions.
The economic damage to Iran and the European countries concerned have begun to be clear, so preventing the growing US-Iran confrontation has become one of the “hot” topics that has attracted the most interest from powers at present during their bilateral and multilateral meetings.
