Paper Title
European Union and the Future of Iranian Nuclear Deal: A Difficult Test for Global Leadership Status

Abstract
European Union (EU), which is considered to have failed in many areas of the global actor policy, has successfully carried this role on Iran. The EU countries having different approaches to many foreign policy issues, adopted a common position on Iranian nuclear problem under the leadership of Germany, France and Britain. After many years of sanctions and negotiations, an agreement was signed called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 with the critical efforts of the EU and the international isolation of Iran has ended. However, after President Trump came to power, he accused Iran of failing to comply with the provisions of the agreement and announced that U.S. had withdrawn from the agreement in May 2018. EU, unlike the U.S., announced that the nuclear deal should continue. The path that EU will follow on Iranian nuclear deal is very critical and controversial. EU faces with the difficult choice of whether to continue with its policy of engagement with Iran through risking a transatlantic rift or to support U.S. policy of confrontation. This study aims to analyze the economic, political and security interests that have pushed the EU into the policy of engagement with Iran, the role of the EU in nuclear negotiations and its future. In this context, despite all its drawbacks, the EU is still a credible actor for Iran and the EU's position on this issue is considered to be of great importance both for Iran's future and for EU's global actor status. Keywords - European Union, Iran, Nuclear Deal, Global Actor