Alwaght- European Union countries appear ready boycott an anti-Iran conference to be organized by the US in the Polish capital of Warsaw in mid-February, Iranian and US media reports say.
EU diplomats raised questions about the real agenda of the February 13-14 conference on Friday, saying it was organized at very short notice and noting that Iran did not appear to be invited.
An EU official said the bloc's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, had other commitments and would not attend.
An official told the Wall Street Journal that there was a lot of "uncertainty about the participation of many other EU member states at ministerial level".
Another EU official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Iran's official news agency IRNA that Mogherini will not be able to attend the conference due to her tight schedule.
Mogherini will be “traveling in those days, hence her attendance is not foreseen,” the official told IRNA’s correspondent in London.
European diplomats have said in recent days that France is unlikely to send its foreign minister. The UK and Germany haven't decided who will represent them. Luxembourg’s foreign minister said he would miss the event because of a prior arrangement.
One European diplomat said the bloc will not be “joining an anti-Iran coalition.”
A group of activists in the United States and other countries recently signed a petition, calling on European countries to boycott an anti-Iran summit.
The activists started the petition on the website of the anti-war group Code Pink to ask European countries not to attend the summit.
The European Union is a strong supporter of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and is seeking to help retain economic ties with Tehran despite renewed US sanctions on Iran following US President Donald Trump’s decision in May to withdraw from the accord.
Mogherini has spearheaded EU efforts to sustain the 2015 deal, which offered Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for steps to curb its nuclear program.
The summit, which will be co-hosted by Poland and the US and take place in Warsaw, was announced during Pompeo’s tour of the Middle East last week.
Iran has expressed its strong protest at the planned summit, with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denouncing it as a “desperate anti-Iran circus.”
