Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, the signing of the JCPOA with Iran in 2015 was a breakthrough to halt the march towards nuclear proliferation in an unstable region. According to the IAEA’s verification and monitoring programme, although the limits were probed and are being probed, no outright violations have been detected to date. I would like also to take the opportunity to acknowledge the role of Baroness Ashton and the role of the European External Action Service in bringing the deal to fruition back in 2015.

President Trump’s decision, therefore, to pull out now and risk unravelling this finely-tuned agreement is baffling. It sends all the wrong signals to the other wannabe nuclear states, including the DPRK. The remaining EU signatories have a vital role now. On the one hand, the US must be persuaded that the deal is still our best tool against nuclear proliferation, and on the other hand, Iran must be encouraged to continue to meet all its obligations. Finding ways to financially protect the European Union companies doing business with Iran will indeed be challenging.

In Europe, of course we do not share common values with the Iranian Government. There are still other major issues of concern to be addressed, such as the Iranian ballistic missile programme, its involvement in proxy wars in the region, gross human rights violations and supporting terrorism, but we must not let one poorly-advised anti-multilateralist president destroy an agreement that has, at its heart, the desire to maintain a more peaceful world. I am very grateful that brexiting Britain is backing the European Union, not its traditional ‘special relationship’ partner, the United States, on this very important issue.