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Thierry Coville, an analyst on Iran's affairs at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) told IRNA in an exclusive interview that insight has been welcomed in Europe that believes the European governments can oppose US sanctions, especially the extraterritorial nature of the anti-Iran sanctions.
The analyst expressed hope that the Europeans would develop their "strategic independence" to strengthen the independence of the green continent in particular when it comes to standing against US unilateralism; although, this is a time-consuming effort, which is making progress.
Coville called for more strides by the European bodies to develop proper mechanisms in dealing with the US's extraterritorial sanctions against Iran, noting that the path is difficult because 27 European states should agree on such an effort, while they have different historical viewpoints.
*** US hypocritically claims Iran's healthcare exempted from sanctions
The anti-Iran sanctions do not officially target the Iranian health sector, but it is obvious that several banks, fearful of US backlash, are reluctant to do business with Iran, the researcher said, arguing that part of the banking transactions is related to the purchase of medicine and medical equipment; hence, American officials are hypocritical when they claim that Iran's health sector is free from sanctions.
He went on to say that the main characteristic of President Donald Trump's administration has been the pursuit of a unilateral foreign policy, and Europe believes that US President-elect Joe Biden is going to retrieve a multilateral foreign policy.
The Trump administration did not consider Europe as a historical ally, but the Europeans expect that the US-Europe relations would come on track under Biden, Coville noted.
The university professor underlined that the Europeans have proved they are serious to support the 2015 Iran nuclear deal because they opposed the US-proposed snapback mechanism at the United Nations, aimed at the extension of the arms embargo on Iran.
However, he accepted, the Europeans could not oppose the re-imposition of the US's unilateral sanctions on Iran.
Biden perhaps thinks Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement in May 2018 increased mistrust between Iran and the United States, and the president-elect is uneasy with the situation, Coville argued.
Referring to Israel's role in the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the analyst said that several analyses mention Israel as the perpetrator of the assassination.
He further noted that Israelis pursued at least two goals: The first one was to push Iran into a retaliatory attack, which could trigger a potential US strike on Iran. The second was to annoy some Iranian political actors to oppose any possible talks with the US and hamper Americans' return to the nuclear deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
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