Politics
Thomson Reuters
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
- Iran has laid out its demands for remaining in a nuclear agreement with France, Gemany, and the UK.
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Europe must counter US sanctions on Iran and protect Iranian oil sales, actions which would undermine the US.
- Iran threatened to resume their nuclear activity if the demands are not met.
- Days earlier US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed "unprecedented pressure" on Iran and laid out its conditions for the deal.
Iran has laid out demands for remaining in its nuclear agreement with European powers which would also undercut the US.
After the US's withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Germany, the UK, and France have been scrambling to save the Iran nuclear deal. On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei laid out a series of conditions for staying in the deal.
"During the last two years, the US violated the JCPOA several times, and Europe remained silent. Europe must compensate for that silence," Khamenei said according to state-run news agency IRNA.
The conditions include countering US sanctions on Iran, protecting Iranian oil sales, and European banks guaranteeing financial cooperation with Iran.
Additionally, Iran demanded that Germany, France, and the UK not seek negotiations with Washington over Iran's ballistic missile program.
"We have no conflicts with regard to these three countries; but we do not trust them, based on previous experience," Khamenei said.
Russia and China were also signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, but no demands were made of these countries.
The supreme leader said that if all the demands were not reached, Iran would resume its nuclear activities immediately.
"When we see that the JCPOA was useless, one way forward is to restart those halted activities," he said.>
Khamenei also slammed the US for breaking "loyalty to its commitments," accused the US of trying to overthrow his country, and called out Trump in particular."
"The current US president will have no better fate than that of his predecessors... he will be lost in history."
His statements come just days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid out US conditions for a new deal with Iran, which include withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria and ending support for Houthi rebels in Yemen. Pompeo also vowed to put "unprecedented pressure" on the nation.
"The sting of sanctions will be painful if the regime does not change its course," Pompeo warned.
The US has vowed to reinstate sanctions it lifted after signing JCPOA in 2015. Reimposed sanctions would enforce harsh penalties on countries that engage with Iran, putting the onus on Europe to choose between cooperating with Iran or the US.