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Warsaw conference: Pence presses Europe on Iran
Summary
A look back at the US-led Warsaw gathering, where Washington urged EU members to leave the Iran nuclear deal.
What did Washington want from Europe in Warsaw? On 14 February 2019, the second day of the conference, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence accused European Union members of trying to break U.S. sanctions against Iran. He also called on the EU to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Iran nuclear deal.
The conference took place on 13 and 14 February 2019 and was hosted by Poland and the United States. The joint announcement listed its themes as terrorism and extremism, missile development and proliferation, maritime trade and security, and threats posed by proxy groups across the region.
A gap over purpose
In early February, the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, had said the meeting would focus on Iran's influence and terrorism in the region. European objections to that purpose followed, and the United States was forced to backtrack on plans to build a global coalition against Iran.
Pence's remarks on 14 February set the American position against that background: a direct appeal to EU members over both sanctions and the nuclear agreement, delivered at a meeting that Europeans had already questioned.
For Kyiv and Ukraine's neighbours, the episode showed Poland acting as host to a major US-led diplomatic event, even as the transatlantic partners disagreed in public over Iran policy.
