Iran blames Europeans for nuclear deal collapse

Tehran on Monday blamed European powers for the failure of the 2015 nuclear deal, accusing them of breaking their commitments ahead of renewed talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany.

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The 2015 deal, reached between Iran and the UN Security Council’s permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

But it unraveled in 2018 when the United States, during Donald Trump’s first term as president, unilaterally withdrew from the accord and reimposed sweeping sanctions.

The Europeans had pledged continued support for the deal, but the mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never materialized effectively and many Western firms were forced to exit Iran, which has since faced a deepening economic crisis.

“The European parties have been at fault and negligent in implementing” the nuclear agreement, said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Bagaei.

His remarks come ahead of a meeting Friday in Istanbul between Iranian officials and representatives from Britain, France and Germany to discuss the future of the nuclear deal.