The Trump administration has secured European backing to impose sanctions on Iran should it ever seek to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile. The agreement addresses one of US president Donald Trump’s key objections to a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran just days before he is due to decide whether to pull out. Mr Trump has threatened to scupper the multi-party accord by refusing to renew sanctions waivers on Iran due by May 12 if its three European signatories do not address his criticisms of it, including its failure to deal with the country’s missile programme.
European and US officials have agreed to penalise Iran if it develops ICBMs as part of a draft “supplementary agreement” with the UK, France and Germany, according to people familiar with the discussions. “Iran doesn’t have ICBMs and Iran has said publicly they will not seek an ICBM. We want to hold them to that,” one person said. But a senior administration official told the Financial Times that the Trump administration also wanted further limits on Iran’s wider ballistic missile programme through a separate, complementary initiative. Details of that effort have yet to be concluded despite “broad areas of agreement”, according to the second person.
The US wants this second initiative to address the rest of Iran’s existing shorter-range ballistic missile capabilities, which the Trump administration claimed had spread throughout the region and some of which could theoretically be adapted to deliver nuclear weapons. The official said the Trump administration wanted Iran to limit its arsenal to missiles with a range of 300km or below and was “100 percent sure” Tehran was transporting missiles into Yemen.