|
European Union leaders in Brussels on Thursday highlighted the
need to protect their companies and investors dealing with Iran
from any adverse effects should Washington reinstate sanctions
against Iran, officials said.
"The president's been pretty clear that it's not his intent to
interfere with business deals that the Europeans may have under
way with Iran," Tillerson told the Journal in an interview
Thursday. "He's said it clearly: 'That’s fine. You guys do what
you want to do.'"
Trump last week adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing
to certify its compliance with the nuclear deal struck with the
United States and five other powers including Britain, France
and Germany.
The Republican president gave Congress 60 days to decide whether
to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran, lifted under the pact in
exchange for scaling down a program the West fears was aimed at
building a nuclear bomb, something Tehran denies.
Trump has criticized the nuclear accord as "the worst deal ever"
and has vowed to withdraw if Congress and European allies do not
address his problems with it. Tillerson's comments appeared
aimed at reassuring the Europeans that Washington is not trying
to pressure them into avoiding business with Iran.
"We've been working with the Europeans for six months,"
Tillerson said. "They have been brought along with this same
thought process. It doesn't mean that they necessarily agree
entirely with it. ... Now we will start a more formalized
process with them now that the policy's been adopted."
The Journal said Tillerson would not discuss the
multibillion-dollar deals reached by Boeing Co under the 2015
accord. Boeing, which was the first major U.S. company to
announce a major business venture with Iran, last year agreed to
sell dozens of commercial planes to Tehran.
(Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
