EU's Mogherini sweeps aside Pompeo's tough speech on Iran

European Union(EU) top diplomat on Monday swept aside U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's speech on Iran, reiterating that there is no alternative to the landmark Iran nuclear deal.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini addresses the media during a conference 'Supporting the future of Syria and the region' at the EU Council in Brussels on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. [Photo: AP/Virginia Mayo]

"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," Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief, said in a statement.

"There is no alternative to the JCPOA," she stressed.

Pompeo on Monday rolled out a "new Iran strategy" in a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a U.S.-based conservative think tank, issuing tough rhetoric against Tehran and summoning calls for frustrated U.S. allies. 

Pompeo said that the United States wanted a better deal to address its concerns on Iran.

"Any new deal must begin with defining what the world should demand from Iran," he said. "America did not create this need for changed behavior, Iran did." 

Outlining the bid to establish an international coalition to pressure Iran, Pompeo said: "we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe." 

"We welcome any nation which is sick and tired" of Iran's behavior, he noted, adding that the United States will send teams around the globe to explain the U.S. motives and build a global momentum. 

Mogherini, however, made a strong case against Pompeo's argument, underlining that the JCPOA "was never designed to address all issues in the relationship with Iran."

"Concerns regarding Iran's regional role... are regularly raised by the EU with Tehran and indeed the EU has in place sanctions seeking to pressure Iran to change its behavior," she noted.

Mogherini reasserted the EU's stance that the bloc "is and will remain committed to the continued full and effective implementation of the JCPOA as long as Iran abides by all its nuclear-related commitments." 

Pompeo's speech came after the Trump administration withdrew from the historic Iran nuke deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), earlier this month despite the global outcry.