NICOSIA, April 24 – Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed Friday that the European Union might consider reducing sanctions against Iran as part of a broader peace agreement, though fellow EU leaders responded with more reserved positions.
For several years, the 27-member European Union has maintained sanctions against Tehran, implementing travel restrictions and freezing assets of high-ranking officials and organizations due to human rights abuses, nuclear programs, and military assistance to Russia.
American officials have indicated that a wide-ranging agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz could potentially bring a lasting conclusion to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran, extending beyond the existing ceasefire.
Following an EU summit held in Cyprus, Merz indicated the European bloc might consider a step-by-step reduction of Iran sanctions if a comprehensive agreement were achieved.
While European leaders have found themselves mostly on the sidelines during the ongoing Middle East crisis, some European officials view the bloc’s sanctions as a potential avenue for EU participation in diplomatic solutions.
“The easing of sanctions can be part of a process,” Merz stated to reporters following the Nicosia summit.
“No one has objected to that,” he commented regarding the summit discussions. “It is, so to speak, part of the contribution we can make to advance this process and, hopefully, lead to a permanent ceasefire.”
However, European Council President Antonio Costa, who chaired the summit, expressed a different view during a press conference after the meeting concluded: “It is too early to talk about relieving any kind of sanctions.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that lifting sanctions would require concrete proof of significant policy changes from Iran.
“We believe that sanctions relief should be conditional on verification of de-escalation, particularly on progress on the international effort to contain its nuclear threat, and on a change to the repression of its own people,” she said during the same press conference.
