EU: Iran Nuclear Deal Issues ‘Not Significant,’ Focus Is On Saving Deal

EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini has addressed the ongoing attempts to save the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran on Monday, saying the EU doesn’t intend to activate the dispute mechanism, and is focusing on saving the deal through diplomacy.

The deal includes a dispute mechanism for when either side accuses the other of not abiding by the deal. Mogherini says that the Iranian noncompliance is “not significant” and isn’t worth raising the matter.

Iran has been wanting to get into dispute resolution mode for awhile, based on EU countries failing to deliver on promised sanctions relief, and has begun to violate the P5+1 terms by enriching to 4.75% instead of 3.67% just to try to get the process doing.

In keeping the “violations” small and easily reversible, however, Iran has also made the issue too minor for the EU to even bother with. Though Iran is threatening to do more just to try to force a negotiation, they also hope the EU will choose to negotiate before it gets to that point.

US officials have made a much bigger deal of Iranian “violations.” Ironically, since the US has already dishonored and withdrawn from the P5+1 deal, they no longer have access to the dispute mechanism.