Iran says the crisis over the nuclear deal raises questions over Europe’s independence from the United States which is “imposing its will” on allies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was “happy” that French President Emmanuel Macron was taking the lead in trying to hold the crumbling agreement together following Washington’s withdrawal.

In an interview with Euronews, Zarif said he held “a very good discussion” with Macron in Paris ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Biarritz. “We discussed with Macron how the US could come back, and how Europe and the international community can live up to their commitments, independent of the US.”

“President Macron has been trying to do his best,” he said. “Our partners in Europe have to make a decision, not about Iran but about how they want to deal with the US — whether they want to have independence or whether the US can impose its will.”

The deal is “not an optional arrangement” but rather it is backed by a UN Security Council resolution, he added.

“If the US were to impose its will on Europe to abide by international law it would be bad but it would be justifiable. Now the US is imposing will on the rest of the world to violate international law. That’s totally unacceptable, and for Europe, whose future is based on multilateralism and the rule of law, this is a threat against the future of Europe.”

He said the nuclear deal was imperfect but was still the “best possible” solution.

Read more