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24 September, 2019
By SJA Jafri + Agencies
TEHRAN/ NEW YORK/ MELBOURNE: Iran has rejected a joint statement by the leaders of France, Germany and the UK who blamed it for attacks earlier this month on Saudi oil installations.
Iran’s foreign minister accused them of “parroting absurd US claims”.
The European leaders said there was no other plausible explanation for the attacks, which shut down half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production.
But they said they remained committed to the 2015 international deal on Iran’s nuclear program.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have claimed they carried out the 14 September attacks while Iran itself has denied any involvement.
Eighteen drones and seven cruise missiles hit an oil field and processing facility.
Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran for the attacks, as has the US which is sending more troops to the kingdom.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued their statement on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“It is clear to us that Iran bears responsibility for this attack. There is no other plausible explanation. We support ongoing investigations to establish further details,” they said.
“The time has come for Iran to accept negotiation on a long-term framework for its nuclear program as well as on issues related to regional security, including its missiles program and other means of delivery,” the statement added.
The three leaders expressed their “continued commitment” to the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).
Tensions between the US and Iran have soared since President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord last year and re-imposed sanctions.
Speaking later on Monday, Johnson called for a new nuclear deal with Iran negotiated by Trump.
“If it was a bad deal, and I’m willing to accept that it had many, many defects, then let’s do a better deal,” he said in an interview with US media.
“I think there’s one guy who can do a better deal and one guy who understands how to get a difficult partner like Iran over the line and that is the president of the United States. So I hope that there will be a Trump deal, to be totally honest with you.”
Downing Street later stressed that Johnson supports the JCPoA. The UK prime minister is due to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ruled out the possibility of negotiating a new deal with world powers, saying that the three European partners had demonstrated “paralysis in fulfilling their obligations” without US approval.
He tweeted: “Solution to this deficiency – mustering will to forge independent path, not parroting absurd US claims and requests inconsistent with JCPoA.”
He added: “No new deal before compliance with the current one.”
Iran has warned the US and its allies against a military response to the attack in Saudi Arabia, saying that it is ready “to respond to any aggression”.
Earlier, Iran was responsible for the attacks on two Saudi oil facilities earlier this month, leaders from the United Kingdom, France and Germany said in a joint statement, drawing a sharp response from a senior Iranian military official.
The leaders issued the statement on Monday as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hinted that the UK may withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, as US President Donald Trump has done last year.
All three countries are signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – commonly referred to as the “nuclear deal” – between Iran and world powers, which had offered Iran relief from global sanctions in exchange for imposing limitations on its nuclear program.
The September 14 drone attacks, which were claimed by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, have elevated tensions in the region.
Johnson met with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday, on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly, to coordinate their strategy on Iran.
