The divergence between the two sides of the Atlantic has got new dimensions. The gap, many experts believe, may not be restored even with departure of Trump administration.
During his election campaign, US President Donald Trump has shown that he is in trouble with the European Union and sees US interests in contravention of the EU states. His negative view of the international grassroot institutions called taken shape in the post-World War II convergence of the two sides the Atlantic, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, NATO and the US withdrawal of the international treaties one after the other are in the context of Trump policymaking.
The JCPOA, was one of the most important agreements that revealed the gap between the US and the European Union. The European Troika, along with Russia and China, seeking to save the nuclear deal, have condemned the United States for unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and supported Iran.
Three European countries - France, Germany and the United Kingdom - have set up the INSTEX mechanism to facilitate trade with Iran in the framework of the JCPOA and to reduce the impact of US economic sanctions on Iran last February. Although no trade has been made by INSTEX between the two parties so far, six European countries have announced their decision to join INSTEX on Friday.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden issued a statement Friday, acknowledging their commitment to the nuclear deal if Iran abides by its comprehensive commitments.
They said that they are ready to cooperate with France, Britain and Germany on trade mechanism known as INSTEX.
In their statement, the ministers of the six European countries emphasized the need to maintain and fully implement the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action, which was endorsed by the UN Security Council and is an important tool for preventing nuclear proliferation and maintaining stability in the Middle East. Given Europe's declared support for the JCPOA and its efforts to meet the economic obligations set out in the JCPOA, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are joining the INSTEX financial telecom software.
Iranian officials have repeatedly criticized the Europeans for the failure to implement the commitments in the JCPOA. But now an increasing number of European countries are willing to join the mechanism of financial support of Iran helped reliability and effectiveness of the INSTEX.
The first reaction to the six EU states decision to join of INSTEX was made by Abbas Araghchi, the deputy foreign affairs.
Araghchi, currently on a visit to China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart for regular consultations between the two countries on the JCPOA, said that European countries were still serious about using INSTEX as a trade mechanism to maintain economic ties with Iran. in fact, the banking telecom they set for Iran to support trade with European countries despite US sanctions is valuable in itself, and that will be available soon.
Meanwhile, Robert O'Brien, Donald Trump's new national security adviser, has criticized Germany's economic policies against Iran, saying that Germany should also adopt Trump administration's policy towards Iran as a model and impose severe economic sanctions on Iran.
The remarks were prompted by a reaction from German Foreign Ministry spokesman, who said that, unlike the United States, the country did not pursue the US approach of maximum pressure on Iran.
The German Foreign Ministry spokesman speaking at a weekly news conference noted "We have a different perspective than the US government's view of Iran. We do not follow the political approach of maximum pressure, for example, issues like maintaining a nuclear agreement and encouraging Iran to return to its obligations. This is our approach and has not changed in the past few days."
It seems that using active diplomacy can ease the current maximum pressure on Iran in light of the gap between Europe and the US.
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