Deutsche Welle. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Monday that he and his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, held “frank and serious” talks on his country’s nuclear deal with world powers, adding that “Tehran will cooperate with EU signatories of the deal to save it.”
Last year, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), labeling it a “terrible deal” that does not do enough to curtail Iranian nuclear development.
After the US reimposed sanctions on Iran, the government in Tehran threatened to pull out of the nuclear deal unless other signatories could offer help to stem the effect of US sanctions. In May, Tehran said it would begin enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels if Europe didn’t come up with new terms for the deal by July 7.
Against this backdrop, the German foreign minister is trying to salvage the agreement that curtailed Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Maas’ four-day Middle East trip, which also saw him visiting Jordan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, is being seen as a major diplomatic undertaking by Germany to scale down tensions and possibly avert a military confrontation in the Middle East.
In Tehran, Maas reemphasized the importance of the nuclear deal, saying it is “extraordinarily important” for Europe’s security. He also said that Germany and its European partners “have made the greatest effort to meet (their) commitments.
But Iran thinks otherwise. “So far, we have not seen practical and tangible steps from the Europeans to guarantee Iran’s interests … Tehran will not discuss any issue beyond the nuclear deal,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi.
“What we expect from the European Union is that they act on their commitments,” he added.
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