European and middle eastern attitudes about the Iran Nuclear Agreement and implications of a potential shift in u. S. Policy toward iran and the agreement. Among the panelists, ambassadors from britain, france, and germany. This is live coverage on cspan3. Hello, greetings. When we launched this [ inaudible ] anticipated that u. S. Relations with iran would become an ever more significant issue. That was both because of irans crucial and was at the time a rapidly advancing Nuclear Program. Two years ago, it seemed the Nuclear Issue had been dealt with, if primarily along partisan lines and not to the satisfaction of all through the joint comprehensive plan of action. While Senior Trump Administration officials and other parties to the agreeme agreement President Trump has expressed his displeasure with the terms. In the General Assembly last week, he called it, quote, an embarrassment to the United States, end quote, and said the u. S. Could not abide by an agreement, if quote, it provides cover for the eventual construction of a Nuclear Program, end quote. Without yet saying what might be proposed or done, he told the General Assembly it had not heard the last of it. What we hear from the administration is particular disquiet with the sunset arrangements and also with iranian misbehavior in the region generally. Which he has signaled on many occasions a desire to push back on what he has called the destabilizing activities iran has undertaken across the middle east. While the administration believes the Nuclear Agreement was a significant step forward in and of itself and for its own rights, President Trump has focused a great deal more on ir irans policies and behavior beyond the agreement in concert with traditional u. S. Arab allies. Without knowing exactly where u. S. Policy will land, both in terms of irans actions in the region and jcpoa, we do know that this is a changed context and a changing context for our meeting today. Jcpoa, as those in this room know, and i see quite a few experts and knowledgeable individuals here in the room, was not a bilateral but a multilateral agreement, and European Countries, britain, france, and germany, and also the European Union, were crucial players in the agreement and in the negotiations. So were delighted to have the ambassadors of france, of germany, and of the uk here today. And also the European Union, for this extremely timely event. So ambassador, we wont be discussing the elections. But we will be talking about this very important agreement. Its my pleasure to introduce ambassadorizen stat for further remarks, who is one of our countrys most accomplished public servants. Let me thank you for everything you have done on this project and in general Everything Else you do for the Atlantic Council as well. With the conclusion of jcpoa, the task force evolved in january 2016 to an Advisory Board that he still chairs and it provides guidance and support to our future of Iran Initiative which is so ably directed by barbara. With that, let me turn it over to you. Thank you. The Atlantic Councils future of Iran Initiative began life as the iran task force, organized under the cochairmanship of chuck hagel, leader of the secretary of defense and myself, and led throughout by barbara slaten. Over the years, weve had more than 100 events. We have published more than two dozen papers. We have examined irans regional activities, its Nuclear Program, its domestic politics, its record on human rights, its economy. Following implementation of the jcpoa last year, our task force morphed into the iran Advisory Board still under my chairmanship and under the directorship of barbara. This recognized the pivotal role that iran plays in the region and anticipates the need for american policymakers and americans in general to understand iran better in order to formulate Pragmatic Solutions to regional crises. Last may, we presented eight papers on ways to bolster the jcpoa, and earlier this month, we had a Panel Discussion on scientific exchanges with iran and the importance of maintaining peopletopeople ties. We hope that our work assists the Trump Administration, congress, and the American People in formulating thoughtful and successful u. S. Policies toward iran. With the negotiation and implementation of the joint comprehensive plan of action, we had hoped we could focus on the future of u. S. iran relations as bolstered by the agreement. As it turns out, this may not be the case. On its side, iran has continued its Missile Development, its support for hezbollah and other terrorist groups, its intervention in syria in ways that are very counterproductive. And its bad human rights policy. But on the other hand, it has faithfully implemented according to the iaea, the jcpoa, and before that, the interim Nuclear Agreement in 2013. It now appears that washington rather than iran may be a bigger threat to the jcpoa. As the sunset clauses in the jcpoa approach, it is indeed perfectly reasonable to consider a followup agreement. But the way to get there is not that threatening to tear up something thats curbing irans ability in the near term to develop Nuclear Programs for at least the next decade. Europe has and will continue to play a Critical Role in determining the future of the jcpoa. And more directly and more broadly, relations with iran. We look forward to hearing the views of the ec3 and the u. N. Ambassadors today about how to navigate the challenges and particularly so because were approaching another certification date by the president and, as fred indicated, hes indicated he may not certify it. Therefore, the role of europe becomes even more central. So with that, i would like to turn it over to barbara slaten, who has been our really catalyst now for seven years on this important program. Thank you, ambassador. You have been a wonderful supporter of this program and a wonderful guide for it. Thank you all for coming. I guess theres some interest in this issue today, judging from the size of the crowd. Throughout the history of the Nuclear Negotiations with iran going back to 2002, when Irans Nuclear activities were revealed, europe has played a pivotal role in these negotiations. They began with the e3 and the European Union at a time when the Bush Administration refused to talk to iran and called it a member of the axis of evil. Over the years, the u. S. Became more involved in the negotiations, but the european role has remained crucial. And now, with the jcpoa increasingly challenged as the ambassador said from washington, rather than iran, it may be up to the europeans again to save the deal, and if possible, build on it. So we are delighted that we have today with us four extraordinary diplomats, many of whom have a lot of personal experience dealing with this issue. Im going to introduce them in alphabetical order. I see jenna has appeared. The ambassador of france to the United States, a career diplomat. He has graced us with his presence in washington for three years now. He previously held numerous positions within the ministry of foreign affairs, among them ambassador to israel, frances permanent represent to the u. N. , and the french negotiator on the iranian Nuclear Issue from 2006 to 2009. Sir kim derrick presented his credentials in january 2016, just after the jcpoa went into full implementation. And his career spans three decades, has been primarily focused on National Security issues and European Union policy. He served as National Security adviser for the uk. He led the National Security team on issues ranging from the rise of daesh and iraq in syria to russian aggression in the ukraine and the iranian Nuclear Issue and he also served as uk permanent representative to the United Nations and eu adviser to the Prime Minister. David osullivan is with us today. He is the ambassador and head of the European Union delegation to the United States. He was posted here in november 2014. As the eus top diplomat to the u. S. , he oversees the bilateral relationship with the u. S. And the direction and work of the eu delegation. He also was chief operating officer of the European External Action Service and he was really responsible for helping to establish this new eu diplomatic service, so im looking forward to hearing his remarks. And finally, last but not least, peter has served as german ambassador to the u. S. Since april 2014. Prior to that, he was the ambassador to the u. N. Hes also served in madrid as private secretary to the foreign minister and was ambassador in lebanon and in cypress. We could not have asked for a more distinguished panel, and believe me, it was not easy to get all of these people here at this time. Were also delighted that cspan is covering this, and we ask you all if youre in the tweeting mood, to feel free to tweet at hciran. Let me invite our panelists up to the stage. I have to say, i wish there were another lady up here, but what can we do. Gender balance. Gender balance is not here today, but we do have great expertise. I would like to begin, and this isnt a way to make up for the fact we had a similar panel two years ago before the jcpoa went into implementation, and we did not have the eu represented. So because we do, and because the eu has played an amazing role, and perhaps some of you heard the remarks of federica who chaired a meeting of the joint commission on the jcpoa last week in new york, im going to ask ambassador osullivan to begin. I guess the basic question for you and for all the panelists is, are you prepared for a president ial decertification of the jcpoa . What will the eu do, what will your governments do if President Trump does not certify the agreement and he tosses it into the lap of our congress . Well, thats a leading question. First, i thank you very much for being here, and im delighted to be here of course with my british friends and german colleagues. I should emphasize that hes are the three Member States of the European Union who are most active in the negotiations and have played a pivotal role, but this agreement has the full support of all 28 members of the European Union and is fully supported by the European Union in its whole. You referred to the remarks, and i would like to touch on those because there was a meeting of the joint commission at ministerial level in new york, and i think its important to recall what federica said at the end of that meeting. The first was to recall what this agreement is about. It is an agreement about Nuclear Nonproliferation. It is designed to make sure that iran will not ever have Nuclear Weapons. That is what it set out to do. That was the purpose of it. That was the basis of the negotiation. And it has achieved that purpose. This is one of the most comprehensive nonproliferation agreements ever negotiated with unprecedented scrutiny and monitoring of the arrangement in ways that frankly have never been seen before, so its a groundbreaking nonproliferation agreement which we believe, if fully implemented by both sides, will effectively make sure that iran never obtains Nuclear Weapons. This is in itself a remarkable achievement, and would have the opposite would have hugely negative consequences for the region. The other point to bear in mind is, as you said, this is not a bilateral agreement. Its a multilateral agreement, and indeed now an agreement which belongs to the international community. It has been enshrined in the u. N. Security Council Resolution, and it is now a public good of the Global Community. And it is the Global Community that expects all parties who have signed up to this agreement to implement it and to do so fully. And the final and most important point is that indeed, the agreement is being implemented. There was absolutely no disagreement about this point in the ministerial meeting last week. Iran is fully living up to its commitments. Its been certified eight times by the International AtomicEnergy Agency and it has been confirmed just recently again. So this agreement is delivering on a very, very important objective which is to insure that iran does not possess Nuclear Weapons and the view of the European Union is that this agreement is a success, needs to be maintained, nurtured, needs to be strictly scrutinized to make sure that everyone, and that includes all of the people who have signed up to this agreement, deliver on their commitments in order to make sure that this Global Public good of nonproliferation in the middle east region is maintained. You didnt answer my question. What will you do if the u. S. Walks away . I dont answer hypothetical questions of that kind. We have to see no. Barbara, lets be frank. There is a debate going on here in the United States. Federica said europe would continue to abide by this agreement. We will continue to abide by this agreement as long as the agreement remains in force and continues to function. We are fully supportive of this agreement, and we believe that this agreement, the eventual demise of this agreement would be a major loss. And by the way, we will perhaps want to talk later about some of the other issues we have with iran in the region, but i can think of no regional issue we have with iran that would not be even more difficult to handle if iran possessed Nuclear Weapons. So difficult as some of those issues are, one of the most important contributions of this agreement is to take Nuclear Weapons out of the equation. Your president , mr. Macron, has come up with an idea for some sort of followup negotiations, but it seems those are predicated on the jcpoa surviving. Theyre not a substitute for them, are they . First, of course, i do agree to everything that david just said. The negotiation of the Nuclear Agreement has been conducted in isolation from other issues. And it was done on purpose. The issue was complicated, so critical that we didnt want to be deriving quid pro quo between Nuclear Issues and other issues. It is a nuclear deal. But isolation works both ways. Which means that nothing in the agreement is preventing us from facing the challenge, the challenges i should say, by iran on other issues. Exactly what my president said repeatedly in new york. We have, i think, we are raising a lot of questions about what iran is doing. You know, in syria or as for support of terrorist activity or the missiles. And we have said that we are ready to work with our allies, allies here and allies in the region to be up to the challenge. The second point is what is called the sunset clause which means not 2025 right away. Its more 2030. The first thing we have to emphasize is that contrary to what i have heard in some circles, after this agreement, iran will be a full member of the mpt and will implement the additional protocol, which means that iran will not have the right of getting Nuclear Weapons. I think its a very important element. And if you have was conducting activity inconsistent with the mpt and protocol, we would be, of course, in a position to impose back sanctions. So we are not going suddenly in 2025 or 2030. We have rules. There will be there is a treaty that we have Strong Military instruments and they will be there. Having said that, what my president said on this last point was that we are ready to discuss with our partners what will be the situation, what does it mean in terms of culture, of technology, to us and iran, which we have the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy. What does it mean in terms of security . Of course, the basis is the full implementation of the iran deal as it is. Ambassador kim, sir kim, if i may. Your Prime Minister met with President Trump last week. I understand he d