China, Germany support Iran deal

BEIJING, May 24, 2018 – Chinese and German leaders expressed support for the Iran nuclear deal on Thursday, as tensions in the Middle East continued to rise and European companies paused work with Iran to evaluate the fallout.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei set his country’s terms for staying in the treaty after the USA announced it was withdrawing on May 8 and threatened Tehran with the reimposition of sanctions. The EU must guarantee Iranian oil sales and European banks should flaunt US financial sanctions on Iran, Khamenei demanded. The Iranian missile programme and Middle East policy should also be non-negotiable if the nuclear treaty is to stay alive, he added, cited by the BBC.

A day earlier, BP announced that it was temporarily halting work on the Rhum field in the North Sea, where National Iranian Oil Company is its partner, to evaluate the potential impact of sanctions. It joined French super-major Total, which last week said it was pausing work on South Pars phase 11 and may have to exit Iran unless it receives a sanctions waiver from US authorities.

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