London: The European Union is about to re-activate an old law to try to persuade businesses to defy US sanctions and continue to trade with Iran, in an attempt to salvage the nuclear treaty.

Senior EU officials accused the US of violating international law by re-introducing the sanctions, which had been dropped in 2015 in exchange for concessions by Iran on its nuclear industry and weapons research.

EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini Credit:AP

The European Commission’s high representative Federica Mogherini, in a joint statement with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK, said they will activate a ‘blocking statute’ on Tuesday morning, local time, in direct defiance of the sanctions which will be imposed at the same time.

“The (nuclear treaty) is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, crucial for the security of Europe, the region and the entire world,” the EU statement said.