Mogherini says EU will stand by Iran nuclear accord

BRUSSELS, Belgium — EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini on Monday insisted the bloc will stand by the Iran nuclear accord, bluntly condemned by US President-elect Donald Trump, because it serves Europe’s security needs.

“It is proof that diplomacy works and delivers…the European Union will continue to work for the respect and implementation of this extremely important deal, most of all for our security,” Mogherini said.

Trump has repeatedly blasted the nuclear accord with Iran as “one of the dumbest deals I have ever seen,” claiming it will not stop Tehran getting atomic weapons and vowing that “my number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.”

However, he has also indicated that rather than scrapping the agreement he would “enforce it like you’ve never seen a contract enforced before” and numerous of his cabinet nominees said during nomination hearings in the Senate last week that the deal should be rigorously enforced rather than ripped up.

Trump repeated the charge that the nuclear accord is “one of the worst deals ever made” in interviews with top European newspapers on Sunday in which he also cast fresh doubt on NATO’s role and the EU’s future after Brexit.

Mogherini said she would not comment on his remarks, but claimed — on the first anniversary of the accord she helped negotiate — that much had been accomplished.

The agreement “has delivered both on the nuclear-related commitments Iran took and on the firm determination of the international community to fully implement this deal,” she said.

As far as the EU was concerned, the accord had resulted in increased trade and economic ties with Iran, including a deal with French energy Total and a contract for 100 airplanes from European aviation manufacturer Airbus, “which is really significant,” she added.

The accord took years of tough negotiations but was finally sealed in 2015, before being implemented in January 2016, with Tehran agreeing to rein in its nuclear program in return for an easing of punishing Western economic sanctions.

President Barack Obama hailed the accord as one of his major achievements, preventing Iran getting nuclear weapons without having to go to war, but Trump has said repeatedly he will ditch it.

On Sunday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that “the new US administration cannot abandon the deal” and repeated an earlier warning by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who publicly stated, “If they tear it up, we will burn it,” without elaborating.

Times of Israel staff and AP contributed to this report.