The EU calls for dialogue and asks for “a chance for diplomacy” amid tensions between Iran and the US

The European Commission has called on Iran and the United States for dialogue and has asked them to give “diplomacy a chance”, at a time when Washington is increasing its military deployment in the Middle East despite the latest indirect talks with Tehran to try to reach a new agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.

“The EU continues to believe that a sustainable solution to the Iranian nuclear issue can only be achieved through negotiations, that is, through diplomacy,” European Commission Foreign Spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said in a press conference from Brussels, underlining that the community bloc is “firmly committed” to peace and stability in the Middle East.

Asked if the EU has any contingency plan in the event that talks between Washington and Tehran fail and the United States launches an attack against Iran, the spokesperson rejected “speculating” about a “hypothetical scenario” and reiterated the need to give “diplomacy a chance.”

He also recalled that “it is essential” that all parties respect International Law, show restraint and “refrain from adopting any measure that could lead to a new escalation in the Middle East.”

Similarly, El Anouni has called on Iran to show that it “is serious about responding to the concerns of the international community” and genuinely try to reach an agreement with the United States on its nuclear program.

THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD IS DECLARED A TERRORIST

This call for dialogue occurs on the same day that the Council (the States) has definitively approved the political agreement reached at the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on January 29, which decided to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard of Iran to the EU list of terrorist countries.

Following its listing, the Revolutionary Guard will be subject to restrictive measures under the EU anti-terrorist sanctions regime, such as the freezing of its funds and other financial assets or economic resources in EU Member States, as well as the prohibition of EU operators from making funds and economic resources available to it.

The unanimous decision took place at the Foreign Affairs Council (CAE) in January and was of a political nature, waiting for some legal issues to be closed before it could come into force.

As a result of this Thursday’s officialization, there are now 13 people and 23 groups and entities subject to the restrictive measures of the so-called terrorist list of the European Union, as detailed by the Twenty-seven in a statement.