Iran’s Shamkhani Cautions EU against Inaction on American Unilateralism

In an op-ed article written for Tasnim, Shamkhani criticized Europe for becoming an unimportant and passive actor despite being humiliated by the US and being faced with the destructive impacts of Washington’s unilateralism which he said have affected several international treaties.

Europe has failed to play the role of a united and influential pole in the international relations, he added.

Shamkhani also said standing against the US unilateralism poses a difficult and serious dilemma for Europe’s determination to “defend its identity and brittle security” in the face of a wave of American unilateral approaches.

He further warned that if US President Donald Trump omits Europe from the global equations, there will be no reason for the next US presidents, either Republican or Democrat, not to use the results of such unilateralism for maximizing the US interests in the face of a weakened Europe.

Should the current trend continue, new far-right parties will gain power in Europe in an effort to reverse the current humiliating conditions and restore the EU’s identity and independence, the Iranian official noted, adding, “The responsibility for the formation of future structural and security challenges in Europe lies directly with its (EU’s) current leaders.”

“In order to maintain its independence and counter the illegal US activities, particularly after that country’s (US’) withdrawal from the JCPOA, the Islamic Republic of Iran has paid a heavy cost, apart from honoring its commitments, to stop the unbridled trend of US unilateralism,” he added.

In an address to the 16th ministerial meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) in Doha in early May, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had called for joint action to address the alarming unilateralism of the US administration, saying imposition of the will of a single power on all other nations is an existential threat that could replace the rule of law with the rule of the jungle.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies.

Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

However, the EU’s failure of ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments under JCPOA in May 2019.

Iran has also set a 60-day deadline for the remaining JCPOA parties to fulfill their undertakings.