The credibility of the three European powers (E3) – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – as negotiating partners has been severely damaged in the eyes of Tehran, Iran Nuances understands after a conversation with a senior official. Accordingly, Iran has lost trust in the E3 to be either willing or able to keep their words.
A consensus has formed among the Iranian elite – not limited to key decision-makers – that the European powers lack control over a process they initiated approximately one month ago.
The prevailing belief in Tehran is that the E3’s actions were not a genuine diplomatic effort but were undertaken “simply to appease Marco Rubio,” the US Secretary of State. The European states triggered a process in a move designed to placate hardline elements in Washington, knowing that would leave them “empty-handed”.
A joint phone call that took place yesterday between the Iranian Foreign Minister and his E3 counterparts was “no more than a political gesture for public diplomacy and part of a blame game for E3.”
Amid these developments, and in light of recent remarks by President Emmanuel Macron, Paris seems to be reprising its classic role as a spoiler. An informed official noted that France is actively undermining the diplomatic process through ‘constant nagging’ and by throwing wrenches in the works, a posture that recalls its history of complicating negotiations.
The sentiment underscores a significant collapse of faith in the E3’s diplomatic autonomy. The assessment from Tehran of European political will is so stark that no one in Iran really believed that the E3 would be courageous enough to reverse the course.
