Warsaw conference: Pence presses EU over Iran nuclear deal
A look back at the exchange in Warsaw on 14 February 2019, when the US vice president urged European governments to leave the nuclear agreement with Iran.
What did Washington want from Europe in Warsaw on 14 February 2019? On the second day of the conference, US Vice President Mike Pence accused European Union members of trying to break US sanctions against Iran and called on the EU to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The conference was held on 13 and 14 February 2019 and was hosted by Poland and the United States. Its announced agenda covered terrorism and extremism, missile development and proliferation, maritime trade and security, and threats posed by proxy groups across the region.
A shifting purpose
In early February, 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.
Seen against that background, Pence's remarks on 14 February set out a direct disagreement. Washington framed European efforts around the sanctions as an attempt to undercut its policy, while the call to leave the agreement asked EU members to change their own course.
The gathering took place in the capital of Poland, and the choice of host and the framing of the agenda made the question of transatlantic alignment on Iran central to the event.
