EU says all parties sticking to Iran nuclear deal

All the parties to the Iran nuclear deal are abiding by its terms, the European Union said Thursday, despite Tehran's charges that new US sanctions breach the agreement.

Tehran says the new measures violate its 2015 deal with world powers that eased sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, an agreement which US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to tear up.

"So far we consider that all parties have been implementing their commitments under the deal," Catherine Ray, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, told a press briefing in Brussels.

"We expect their continued adherence," Ray said when asked to comment on the Iranian charges.

Ray based her expectation on a July 21 meeting in Vienna of the Mogherini-chaired commission that brings together Iran and the other parties to discuss the deal's implementation.

Mogherini's office issued a statement at the time saying the meeting's participants confirmed their continued adherence and "stressed the need to ensure its full and effective implementation in a constructive atmosphere."

Ray said the joint commission allowed for the Iranian view on new US sanctions to be widely discussed.

The United States enacted Wednesday new sanctions targeting Iran's ballistic missile programme, alleged human rights abuses and its support for the Lebanese Hezbollah, which Washington calls a terrorist group.

Following the nuclear deal, Washington and the EU lifted sanctions related to Iran's atomic programme that the West alleged was for military purposes but Tehran said was peaceful. 

Mogherini is due in Tehran on Saturday for the inauguration of Hassan Rouhani, who was re-elected to a second term as president in May.

EU countries Britain, France and Germany -- which signed the deal along with Russia, China and the United States -- remain firm backers of the agreement and have criticised the Trump administration for threatening to scrap it.

source: AFP