Tehran, Iran, March 5
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad – Trend:
Despite the US threats, a senior Iranian oil official believes that the EU would make efforts to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) intact due to the international concerns over energy security.
“I believe that the EU must support Iran for protecting the JCPOA. The EU must make every effort to persuade the US to alter its stances," Seyed Mehdi Hosseini, the head of Iran’s petroleum contracts committee, told Trend.
"Iran’s oil and gas are necessary for protecting the world’s energy security. The world will not be able to live without Iran’s oil and gas in long term, though in short-term some producers like Saudi Arabia or Russia may replace Iran’s crude,” Hosseini said.
“For sure the EU is not in favor of leaving the nuclear deal and it will not walk away from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. However, the US keeps its own stance on the issue. We may experience more pressure until the month of May when the US will announce its decision on the nuclear deal,” he added.
Bloomberg on Monday reported that French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is traveling to Tehran as part of a European drive to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran that President Donald Trump is threatening to scuttle and the Islamic Republic has said it may be forced to abandon. On May 12 Donald Trump is expected to decide whether to continue waiving sanctions under a US law.
So far, Iran has adhered to the terms of the nuclear deal, as verified by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in 10 reports since the pact was implemented in January 2016. But the economic benefits it’s receiving in return have fallen short of expectations, even after energy and financial sanctions were lifted. Major banks and companies have avoided engaging with Iran from fear of running afoul of remaining US restrictions or seeing a “snapback” of sanctions given Trump’s threats.