Iran said Saturday it would wait to see whether Europe produces tangible results in overcoming US sanctions before deciding whether to stay in the nuclear deal.
On Saturday, EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete was the first high-level Western official to visit Iran since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal earlier this month.
The threats of sanctions and the US withdrawal raise fears of financial risks for European institutions that want to invest in Iran, but they also warn of significant negative effects on Iran's economy.
Following his meeting with Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh later on Saturday, Canete said the euro would become the currency in which Iranian oil is traded and paid through transfers between European central banks and Iran's central bank. He said shipments would be secured in European suppliers, as in Greece, France and Italy.
For his part, the Iranian minister said he took note of these proposals, and that were no plans to change Iran's pattern of oil exports, which amount to 3.8 million barrels per day, with 70 percent going to Asia and 20 percent to Europe.
In a joint press conference with head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, Canete called the nuclear deal "fundamental for peace in the region" as he outlined EU plans to continue oil and gas purchases and protect European companies, despite renewed US sanctions on Iran that are set to be phased in over the next six months.
The Commissioner explained that this would be useful, especially for small and medium-sized companies that will be subject to US sanctions.
Salehi told the press that Canete gave a number of proposals and measures aimed at countering the US decision, hoping that it will materialize.
"The ball is in the court of the EU. They have presented different proposals, we will see if they materialize," he indicated. He reiterated Iran's rejection of any new negotiations on the 2015 agreement.
The nuclear deal aims to facilitate trade with Iran and boost its economy by lifting severe international sanctions, and in turn Iran pledged to curb its nuclear activities and ensure that no nuclear weapons are available.
US President Donald Trump said the agreement was lenient, did not address Iranian ballistic missiles and Tehran's destabilizing behavior in the Middle East.
The European Commissioner is scheduled to meet today with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif before returning to Brussels.
On Saturday, Salehi acknowledged Europe's efforts to protect trade but said: "We want tangible results, otherwise we take our own decisions. I personally don't want to see such decisions being taken."
He asserted that the Iranian people had lost trust in the nuclear agreement and that if trade benefits were not protected "they will lose more confidence... and we will be forced to leave."
"For sure there are clear difficulties with the sanctions," Canete acknowledged, because a number of European companies involved in Iran are talking about leaving the country to avoid the consequences of US sanctions, such as losing their license in the US and its impact on banks.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will unveil on Monday “comprehensive strategy” that is a new diplomatic road map for Iran on how US plans to "address the totality of Iran’s threats."
"The US will be working hard to put together a coalition,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, to face Iranian regime and its destabilizing activities.
“We need … a framework that’s going to address the totality of Iran’s threats,” according to State Department’s director of policy planning, Brian Hook. However, the guidelines of this new strategy are still unclear.
