EU 'Determined To Preserve' Iran Deal, Urge US to Protect It

The European Union's 28 ministers have unanimously urged U.S. Congress to preserve the Iran Nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to keep the path of a peaceful resolution with North Korea open.

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"At a time of acute nuclear threat the EU is determined to preserve the JCPOA as a key pillar of the international nonproliferation architecture," the ministers said in a joint statement issued during a meeting in Luxembourg, referring to the deal between Tehran and six other nations.

“Clearly the ministers are concerned that messages on JCPOA might negatively affect opening negotiations or even the space (for) opening negotiations with DPRK,” EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini who is expected to visit the U.S. to urge Trump not to pull out of the deal, said,

“One of the key elements of multilateralism is the predictability of maintaining agreements," Mogherini added.

The ministers have warned that Trump's threats of terminating the deal could jeopardize possibilities of a peaceful solution with North Korea.

"It might be total termination, that's a real possibility, some would say that's a greater possibility," Trump told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Mogherini added that Trump's stance could make it "more difficult to open any form of dialogue or mediation with (Pyongyang) in the case of a serious threat."

Per the 2015 Iran-U.S. Nuclear Deal, Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany are among other signatories in the deal.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, also indicated the need for Trump to comply with his European allies. "This is something that can only work if the administration exercises tremendous diplomacy with our European allies," Corker said in a statement.

The Luxembourg meeting is expected to extend the sanctions against North Korea by curbing all crude oil sales to the country and by cutting remittances sent to North Korea from around US$17,670 to US$5,890.