Europe Must Choose Between U.S. Sanctions and Its Own Interests
IRAN WARNS EUROPE
TEHRAN — Iran on Monday warned European countries that following Washington’s sanctions policy will further erode their own political and economic interests, while emphasizing that Tehran will continue to strengthen ties with China, India and other friendly states and use regional diplomacy to defend its interests amid the continuing confrontation with the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that Europe must decide whether to follow Washington or protect its own sovereignty and interests, stressing that previous European efforts to accommodate U.S. demands had only pushed the bloc further to the margins.
“For us, the performance of countries is important. Europe must make its own decision,” Baghaei said at his weekly press conference.
“Europe has tried this path before; the path of keeping America satisfied and following America’s demands, both at the UN Security Council and at the IAEA Board of Governors, has resulted in Europe’s role being pushed further to the margins,” he said.
Baghaei specifically pointed to the EU’s Blocking Statute, saying European companies are not permitted under the bloc’s own rules to comply with U.S. secondary sanctions and that European governments are obliged to protect their companies from such measures.
“If the European Union values its credibility, sovereignty, independence, national interests and economic interests, it certainly should not follow America’s economic war against Iran,” he said.
The warning came as Tehran simultaneously underlined that it has alternatives to dependence on Western diplomatic and economic channels.
Baghaei rejected speculation surrounding the absence of a bilateral meeting between the Iranian and Chinese presidents during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, saying Iran-China relations remain “very good” and that contacts between the two countries continue at different levels.
He said the forthcoming BRICS summit would provide another opportunity for Iran to consult with China and other friendly countries, noting that many countries are members of both BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The absence of one bilateral meeting at a particular gathering, he said, should not be regarded as decisive.
“We have a very good and cordial relationship with China and contacts at different levels are continuously maintained,” Baghaei said.
The emphasis on China and BRICS forms part of Tehran’s broader diplomatic approach as the United States continues a terrorist campaign of military, economic and maritime pressure.
Baghaei said diplomacy remains active and coordinated with the other institutions of the Iranian state, while stressing that negotiations are neither inherently good nor bad but an instrument for advancing national interests and protecting national security.
“Negotiation is absolutely neither bad nor good; it is a tool for advancing the country’s interests and securing national interests and security,” he said.
That approach, however, does not mean accepting pressure or entering negotiations without conditions.
Baghaei said the United States is responsible both for launching military aggression and for violating the Islamabad understanding reached in June, noting that Washington has breached its commitments only 22 or 23 days after signing the agreement.
“The ball has been in the American court for a long time,” he said, stating that Washington is both the initiator of the military confrontation and the party that violated the understanding.
Tehran’s position on the Strait of Hormuz is similarly tied to the question of pressure and security.
Baghaei rejected descriptions of the current situation as simply a “tanker war,” saying the disruption began with the U.S. and Israeli military assault and the subsequent maritime blockade.
He said Iran’s measures in the Strait are defensive and maintained that the waterway cannot be considered secure while U.S. military pressure, economic warfare and attacks on Iranian commercial vessels continue.
“The problem is not Iran’s actions; the problem is the military aggression of the United States and the Israeli regime,” Baghaei said.
At the same time, Tehran is pursuing a diplomatic mechanism with Oman aimed at establishing safer shipping routes.
Baghaei said negotiations between the two coastal states have reached their final stage and that an understanding on a temporary safe route could potentially be registered with the International Maritime Organization in the coming days. Current reporting likewise describes the Iran-Oman discussions as nearing a final arrangement.
Baghaei stressed that Oman has acted in good faith in the negotiations and that an Iran-Oman understanding is a necessary condition for establishing security along shipping routes, though not by itself sufficient while the broader military confrontation continues.
The message from Tehran is therefore simultaneously diplomatic and cautionary: regional states could help reduce tensions, but the underlying cause of insecurity remains the continuation of U.S. and Israeli military action.
That position also shapes Iran’s response to the European and American push for action at the IAEA. Baghaei hit out a Washington and the three European countries — Britain, France and Germany — for seeking to exploit the nuclear issue for political pressure and warned that any “ill-advised” action will draw an Iranian response.
He said that the very circumstances preventing the IAEA from accessing Iranian nuclear facilities were created by the attacks on those facilities, making it contradictory, for the same countries responsible for the attacks to criticize Iran over the resulting restrictions.
“Certainly the Islamic Republic of Iran will take the necessary measures in response to any ill-advised action by the three European countries and the United States,” Baghaei said.
He also warned regional governments against allowing themselves to become instruments of the confrontation, saying Israel’s threats against countries in the region should serve as a warning about what Tehran regards as an expansionist regional agenda.
“Countries in the region must be careful that becoming preoccupied with other issues does not embolden the main enemy and the real danger to regional peace and security,” he said.
The same principle, Baghaei said, applies to European governments. Tehran will judge countries by their actions rather than their statements and adjust its own policies accordingly.
On the possibility of European countries allowing U.S. use of NATO facilities for military operations against Iran, he said no country could be expected to tolerate the participation of others in an attack against its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Our positions toward Europe are very clear,” he said. “In proportion to their behavior, we will also take the necessary measures.”
Baghaei also linked Iran’s diplomatic position to the continuing regional mediation effort. A Qatari delegation visited Tehran on Sunday as part of Doha’s efforts to reduce tensions, while Iran and Oman continued their discussions over maritime security.
Tehran has also maintained that it will use opportunities such as the BRICS summit to pursue contacts with China, India and other countries.
India, Baghaei said, remains an important partner with which Iran has “longstanding, historical and civilizational” relations.
He singled out the strategic issue of Chabahar as one of the subjects important to both countries and said Tehran will use the BRICS meeting to continue consultations with New Delhi.
He added that Iran will not compromise on its national and vital interests. “As long as the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran are not secured,” Baghaei said, “we will by no means see the return of security to the region.”