Iran’s nuclear program: USA and Europeans warn of escalation
Berlin, Paris, London and Washington view the expansion of the Iranian nuclear program with “concern”. Photo: Oliver Weiken / dpa
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The USA, Germany, France and Great Britain are increasing the pressure on Tehran in the dispute over the nuclear deal. The demand: a swift and complete return to the nuclear agreement. But before that there are still many issues to be resolved.
Without a swift return of Iran to the nuclear deal, according to the USA, France, Great Britain and Germany, “a dangerous escalation” could threaten.
The heads of state and government of the countries expressed their “great and growing concern” at an expansion of the Iranian nuclear program, as stated in a joint statement by US President Joe Biden, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Great Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) from Saturday. On the sidelines of the G20 summit of leading economic powers in Rome, they discussed the imminent resumption of nuclear talks with Iran.
The only way to avoid a dangerous escalation, which is not in the interests of any country, is to return to the international agreement, they declared in Rome. “We have expressed our determination to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire nuclear weapons,” it said. The US government had previously stated that the meeting was about putting pressure on Iran through a united stance. Tehran wants to resume tough nuclear negotiations in Vienna in November.
Iran has recently expanded its nuclear program, for example by producing highly enriched uranium, for which there is no “credible civil need,” it said. However, this is important for nuclear weapons programs, which underscores that Iran’s nuclear program is a risk to international security, it said. “These steps are all the more alarming in view of the fact that Iran has at the same time reduced cooperation and transparency vis-à-vis the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”
The US is ready to return to the agreement and to comply with it “unconditionally”, declared the four states. This would also allow the sanctions to be lifted, which would fuel the ailing Iranian economy, it said. “That will only be possible if Iran changes course.” Iran’s current course jeopardizes the possibility of a return to the nuclear deal, it said. A sticking point in the negotiations was ultimately the question of who has to move first: Should the Americans first lift their sanctions or should the Iranians reverse the expansion of their nuclear program? No agreement is in sight on the issue.
The talks that had been going on since April to reinstate the 2015 nuclear agreement in Vienna were interrupted after the Iranian presidential election in June and the subsequent change of government. The background to the talks is that the USA under ex-President Donald Trump unilaterally adopted the agreement in 2018 and decided on many new sanctions against Iran. As a result, Tehran began to expand its nuclear program again. The remaining contracting parties endeavor in the Vienna talks to revive the pact.
The agreement was intended to prevent Iranian nuclear weapons from being built. In return, the sanctions that are troubling Iran’s economy should be lifted. In Vienna, the remaining contractual partners China, France, Great Britain, Russia, Germany and the EU negotiated with Iran. US diplomats are only indirectly involved in the talks. The US government has emphasized that it wants to give the negotiations a chance, but time is of the essence.