Iran nuclear deal: EU tells Tehran it remains committed to accord despite Trump's withdrawal

Miguel Arias Canete says 28-nation bloc hopes to increase trade with the Islamic republic

The European Union has moved to reassure Iran it remains committed to the nuclear deal, despite Donald Trump‘s decision to withdraw the US from the accord and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Miguel Arias Canete, the European commissioner for energy and climate, said the 28-nation bloc, once the biggest importer of Iranian oil, also hoped to boost trade with Tehran.

We have sent a message to our Iranian friends that as long as they are sticking to the agreement the Europeans will ... fulfil their commitment,” Mr Canete said during a visit to Tehran on Saturday. ”And they said the same thing on the other side.”

“We will try to intensify our flows of trade that have been very positive for the Iranian economy.”

Iran’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said his country hoped the EU would manage to salvage the 2015 deal, in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of most Western sanctions.

“We hope their efforts materialise. America’s actions ... show that it is not a trustworthy country in international dealings,” Mr Salehi told a joint news conference in Tehran.

Since Mr Trump’s announcement on 8 May, European countries have said they will try to keep Iran’s oil and investment flowing, but have also admitted they will struggle to provide the guarantees Tehran seeks.

Mr Salehi said Iran had several options, including resuming its 20 per cent uranium enrichment if the European countries failed to keep the pact alive. He said the EU had only a few weeks to deliver on their promises.

“If the other side keeps itself committed to its promises, we also will be keeping ourselves to our promises ... We hope the situation will not arise to the point that we will have to go back to the worst option,” Mr Salehi told reporters.

“There are all kind of possibilities: we can ... start the 20 per cent enrichment.”

Under the 2015 deal, Iran’s level of enrichment must remain at around 3.6 per cent. Iran stopped producing 20 per cent enriched uranium and gave up the majority of its stockpile as part of the agreement.

Uranium refined to 20 per cent fissile purity is well beyond the 5 per cent normally required to fuel civilian nuclear power plants, although still well short of the highly enriched, or 80 to 90 per cent, purity needed for a nuclear bomb.

Additional reporting by Reuters