Germany, France and Britain to Iran: Abide by nuclear deal

The leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Sunday called on Iran to abide by the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, after the Islamic Republic announced it will abandon the deal amid heightened tensions with the United States over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani.

In a joint statement quoted by The Associated Press, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Iran to refrain from conducting or supporting further “violent acts.”

The three specifically urged Iran to “withdraw all measures” not in line with the 2015 nuclear agreement that was intended to stop Tehran from pursuing its atomic weapons program.

They also called on all actors involved to show “utmost restraint and responsibility” and pledged to continue to seek to reduce tensions and ensure stability in the Middle East.

Earlier on Sunday, Iranian state television cited a statement by President Hassan Rouhani’s administration saying the country would not observe the deal’s restrictions on fuel enrichment, on the size of its enriched uranium stockpile and on its research and development activities.

Even before the elimination of Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad overnight Thursday, Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal in response to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.

Most recently, the Islamic Republic restarted uranium enrichment at the underground Fordow facility in violation of the deal.

Britain, France and Germany have been trying to save the nuclear deal and have vowed to help Iran evade the economic sanctions imposed by the US, shielding companies doing business with the rogue state in an effort to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

Iran has rejected the European signatories’ steps as insufficient and, in fact, blamed Europe for its scaling back its commitments under the deal.