When President Trump pulled out of the Iranian nuclear deal, the European Union wasted no time in trying to replace the United States as chief interlocutor. Iranian President Rouhani and the Ayatollah Khamenei saw the larger picture and playing off the EU’s obvious anxiousness, told the Europeans what it would take for them to be promoted to the primary spot: mechanisms that allow its financial institutions to function without American approval and the ability to sell its oil – together the key American sanctions. On Saturday, the EU’s deputy to the foreign policy chief met with an Iranian official in Tehran and according to the respective spokespeople, discussed the 2015 nuclear deal and the EU’s threatened pullout if its demands are not met by the July deadline the Iranians have slapped on the demanded fixes. As an indication of the EU’s determination to find a way in, the visit was the third in a week of importance: Japanese Prime Minister Abe and German Foreign Minister Maas preceded the EU’s Helga Schmid. Rouhani had warned that unless the other (the U.S.’s former partners in the deal) signatories had “positive signals to show,” Tehran would begin to walk back its commitment to the pact.