Analysis by PMOI/MEK
May 13, 2019 – In response to Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani’s announcement of Tehran’s gradual withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, Europe stood firm and did not budge to the ruling mullahs’ 60-day ultimatum.
Surprised by Europe’s insistence on Iran’s full compliance with the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the ruling theocracy is expressing disappointment through rank and file.
Frustrated in their bet to coerce Europe to the mullahs’ demands, a multitude of state-run outlets wrote: “It is worth mentioning that the U.S. hasn’t been alone in advancing its malevolent goals and the European Union has accompanied Washington with virtually similar measures.”
The heads of Europe’s major countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron have already stressed the importance of Iran’s full compliance to the JCPOA.
Last Thursday, Macron went even further and said Iran’s ballistic missile program needs to be solved, and that the JCPOA is incomplete and needs to be amended.
These two statements are part of the Trump administration’s demands that were previously announced in Secretary Mike Pompeo’s 12-conditions, which are described red lines by the Iranian mullahs.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s recent overture to the U.S. through a negotiation proposal of exchanging prisoners on the one hand and Iran’s betting on Europe’s willingness to rescue its crumbling economy on the other are coming at a time when the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei previously described the European financial initiative as a “bitter joke.”
“They have practically left the JCPOA, meaning they have even created new sanctions against Iran. This is Europe’s behavior. Can you expect anything [good] from them? This financial channel that recently is always talked about that they created is more like a joke. Though a bitter joke. This has no meaning at all. What is their obligation is totally different than what they are proposing? Europe backstabbed us again in our last international issue. They betrayed us. You can’t expect anything [good] from them. Anything!” Khamenei said on March 21.
Keyhan newspaper, known as Khamenei’s mouthpiece, also published a piece titled, “One year after the JCPOA’s death, the U.S. left, we stayed with absolute loss.”
“Why has Europe become the defender of the JCPOA in the third round of the nuclear agreement, while they, and especially France, played the role of the ‘bad cop’ during the negotiations and intended to push [the Iranian regime] into a corner with their positions?”
“The INSTEX proposal hasn’t also done anything and the story is still continuing in the same way,” the Keyhan piece added.
“Europe’s role is to keep [Tehran] in the JCPOA so that the U.S. can, on the other hand, increase pressures on Iran step by step… Therefore, we shouldn’t expect Europe to have the will to create even a useless financial channel,” Keyhan concluded.
Last Friday, Ahmad Alamolhoda, Khamenei’s representative in the city of Mashhad, addressed Rouhani’s faction with harsh remarks.
“Either enter the battle formation or move aside! You imagine a JCPOA while from the beginning, the Supreme Leader said we shouldn’t trust these Americans and Westerners. Now that it is clear, come at least and stand firm in the battle formation. Bring back 20 percent uranium enrichment. Reinstall the removed centrifuges. Restart Arak’s heavy water reactor. Come and strongly into the battlefield,” he said during the Friday prayer ceremony in Mashhad.
Addressing the proponents of the JCPsOA, he added: “If you aren’t the commanders of this battle formation, if you aren’t the supervisor of this battle formation, well, move aside! Let go!”
