Alistair Burt, Britain’s Minister of State for the Middle East. Photo: Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Global Citizen
The U.K. is attempting to resolve U.S. concerns with the Iran deal along with its partners, Reuters reports from Paris. “We don’t want to see the JCPOA (nuclear deal) go down and are working with our European partners to mitigate concerns the United States may have to ensure it continues,” Alistair Burt, Britain’s Minister of State for the Middle East said at a Euromoney Iran conference Thursday.
Britain still wants the deal to work out. “We and our European partners are absolutely clear. We want the deal to succeed," Burt said. "Europeans are open to having discussions with U.S. counterparts to alleviate these concerns and address them," Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy advisor at the European Council on Foreign Relations with a focus on Iran and the nuclear issue, told Axios. "This doesn’t mean they’re agreeing to concessions."
- This comes after Trump waived sanctions on Iran last month for what he said would be the last time. The deal is essentially in limbo until May, when Trump makes his next move.
Where other countries party to the deal stand:
- The UK, France, and Germany are in conversations with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about curbing Iran's development of ballistic missiles, per Bloomberg. That could address some of Trump's concerns.
- France is encouraging businesses to continue its deals in Iran, despite Trump's threats.
- Russia, along with Iran, reaffirmed its commitment to the Iran deal earlier this week, per TASS. Iran this week said it would stay in the deal no matter whether the U.S. remains, per World Israel News.
- China this week has also reaffirmed its commitment to the Iran deal, per Mehr News Agency, an Iranian news agency.