The EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, responded on to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on Iran , in which he vowed that Washington would impose unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. In a statement quoted by AFP , Mogherini warned that there is "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal. "Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," she said, using the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is officially known. President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that his country would pull out of the accord struck in July 2015 between Tehran and major world powers. His move came despite the fact that the UN's nuclear watchdog, in charge of monitoring Iran's compliance with the deal, has confirmed that Tehran has so far abided by the terms. Mogherini called on the U.S. to keep its commitments as part of the agreement signed under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama. "The JCPOA is the result of more than a decade of complex and delicate negotiations, based on dual track approach and therefore the best possible outcome, striking the right balance," Mogherini said, according to AFP . "This deal belongs to the international community, having been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. The international community expects all sides to keep the commitments they made more than two years ago," she added. Mogherini stressed right after Trump withdrew from the agreement that the EU would remain in the agreement and will do so “as long as Iran continues to implement its nuclear related commitments, as it is doing so far.” Last week she said that EU countries are “talking about solutions to keep the deal alive,” while adding that measures would seek to allow Iran to keep exporting oil and for European banks to continue to operate.
