Iran urges Europe to 'act' against US sanctions

WASHINGTON DC - The United States is still studying possible waivers of sanctions against countries or businesses that continue commerce with Iran after November 4, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.

At the same time he maintained the US administration's firm position toward Tehran, which Washington accuses of interference throughout the Middle East.

Meanwhile Iran's foreign minister urged European countries to take action to neutralise the effects of US sanctions on companies looking to operate in Iran.

To the dismay of other signatories, Trump in May announced his pullout from the hard-won 2015 international accord under which Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear capacities in exchange for relief from crippling economic sanctions.

Trump said the deal failed to block all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions.

These included secondary penalties against businesses or foreign countries which continue commerce with Iran.

Those firms must now choose between their investments in Iran and their access to the US market.

Washington gave them some time to pull out, leaving the latest sanctions related to financial transactions and petroleum to take effect after November 4.

"There are still a number of decisions pending before the November 4th deadline that we gotta make about waivers, potential waivers," Pompeo told a news conference.

Washington wants all countries to halt oil imports from Iran before November 4 if they want to avoid US penalties. Certain waivers have not been excluded, however, notably for India which depends heavily on Iranian petroleum.

Responding to a question, Pompeo said he did not know if sanctions would hit managers of Swift, the international financial messaging system, if they continue to deal with Iran.

"Come November 4th, there will be a fundamentally different set of rules" regarding "anyone who deems it necessary to engage in economic activity with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a big important day," Pompeo said.

He underlined that many countries had already begun to disengage themselves.

The European Union, which continues to back the Iran nuclear accord, has tried unsuccessfully to obtain widespread waivers and many of its bigger companies have already pulled out of the country for fear of US penalties.

Iran in late August opened a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice, demanding the suspension of the renewed US financial penalties which it says are devastating its economy.

European 'passivity'

Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister said in an interview published on Saturday that Europe should take action to neutralise the consequences of the US decision to quit the nuclear accord, in order to ensure its own long-term economic interests.

Mohammed Javad Zarif told Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine that Iran could "reduce its implementation" of the agreement and possibly increase uranium enrichment activities if the nuclear agreement was jeopardised by "the actions of the Americans and the passivity of the Europeans."

"The Europeans and other signatories must act to offset the consequences of the US sanctions," Zarif told the magazine, calling a package of measures drafted by Europe an important step that should now be implemented.

"What is paramount: Europe should do so not for Iran, but for its own sovereign and long-term economic interests."

European Union officials strongly oppose the US withdrawal from the agreement, and have sought to salvage the deal in some form.

Germany on Friday said it was considering setting up a payment system with its European partners that would allow continued business transactions with Iran once US sanctions kick in.

However, German officials concede privately that such a system would not prevent big companies that rely on US exports to escape US sanctions if they continue to sell to Iran.

Zarif said Tehran's biggest priority was to continue to sell a reasonable amount oil worldwide and return the proceeds to Iran, as well encouraging investment and cooperation in areas such as technology and research.

"Europe said the nuclear agreement was in its security interest. Then Europe must be ready to pay for its security," Zarif said. "Nothing is for free."

He said Europe should be "ready to pay for its security" by implementing a European Union "blocking agreement" under which it can punish European firms for withdrawing from Iranian business deals to avoid US.sanctions.

"The question is whether European wants its companies to follow European laws or American ones, or whether it will submit to the American dictates," Zarif said.

He said Iran had options to act if Europe failed to act to compensate Iran for the US sanctions.

"We do not necessarily have to cancel (the agreement). Article 36 of the agreement and Security Resolution 2231 make it possible to reduce implementation, without cancelling it," he said.

Asked if Iran could resume increased enrichment of uranium, he said, "That would be one of the possibilities."

Zarif said Tehran would not "waste its time" on additional negotiations with the United States about Iran's behaviour in the region unless Washington rescinded its decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement.

"Only when Europe ensures that (the agreement) is implemented can Iran see if the attempt should be made to talk about other issues," he said.