"European countries need to stand against Washington’s unilateral and arbitrary decisions", Hossein Amir Abdollahian was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.
Amir Abdollahian, who spoke with French Ambassador to Iran Philippe Thiebaud in Tehran, said that by challenging the United States over the 2015 nuclear deal Europe would safeguard global peace and security.
On 27 May, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States would end the waivers that allowed foreign companies to work on Iran's peaceful nuclear projects as stipulated in the nuclear deal, after a 60-day wind-down period. The United States will provide a 90-day extension for the sanctions waiver for foreign entities engaged in work at the first unit of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. The decision was already criticized by Russia and China.
US Cannot Claim to Be Part of JCPOA After Withdrawing
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said that the United States cannot claim to be part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after withdrawing or try to deal with the relevant issues as part of the Iran nuclear deal.
"We agree that the embargo was taken at a certain moment, with a certain schedule of time. The US has withdrawn from the JCPOA. and now they cannot claim that they are still part of the JCPOA, in order to deal with this issue", Borrell told a press conference.
The US cancelled sanctions waivers for European companies involved in Iran's nuclear programme in late May, two years after it quit the nuclear pact that saw Iran curb its nuclear research in exchange for sanctions easing.
EU signatories vowed to protect Iran from US penalties but Iran argues that not enough has been done.
