Borrell Not Ruling Out Total Collapse of JCPOA After Dispute Mechanism Invoked

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2020) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has admitted to Spiegel the risk of the irreversible collapse of the Iran nuclear deal after EU nations triggered the dispute resolution mechanism.

On Tuesday, Germany, France and the UK said in a joint statement that they were left with no choice but to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism under the 2015 deal, given Iran's decision to scrap remaining nuclear commitments. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the accord could be replaced with a "Trump deal."

Asked by the German magazine whether the launch of the dispute mechanism means that the deal was dead, Borrell replied: "There is a risk." He, at the same time, stressed that the dispute resolution mechanism itself was not aimed at imposing sanctions.

"Although Iran says that it no longer feels bound by the provisions of the agreement, this does not mean that Iran actually violates them.

We continue to trust the assessment of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors in Iran. It is crucial for us," he said.

Speaking about Iraq, the top EU diplomat described the situation there as "even more worrisome than the one in Iran."

"If we stand idly by and watch Iraq fall apart, we will pay a very high price: the progress of recent years will be lost, and Iraq risks becoming a second Syria. We must protect Iraq's territorial integrity," he said, when asked whether Europe should send more troops to Iraq if Americans leave.

Tensions in the middle East have significantly escalated after a targeted US drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in early January. Iraq immediately called for US troops to leave the country, while Iran abandoned remaining nuclear obligations and responded with a missile strike at the Iraqi bases hosting American forces.