Vienna — As senior officials from Iran and the remaining signatories to its 2015 nuclear deal met Friday to try and keep the agreement alive, the Trump administration made it clear that European nations had to choose between doing business with Iran, or doing business with the U.S.
With tension high in the Persian Gulf, Tehran is poised to surpass a uranium stockpile threshold, posing a threat to the accord. At the heart of the meeting in Vienna is Iran’s desire for European countries to deliver on promises of financial relief from U.S. sanctions. Iran is insisting that it wants to save the agreement and has urged the Europeans to start buying Iranian oil or give Iran a credit line to keep the accord alive.
The regular quarterly meeting of the accord’s so-called joint commission, which brings together senior officials from Iran, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, China and the European Union, is meant to discuss implementation of the deal.