Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has confirmed that the 2015 Iran deal is “the right way” to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. He said it “makes the world safer”.
After meeting with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, on May 7, Maas said: “We don’t think there is any justifiable reason to pull out of this agreement and we continue to make the case for it to our American friends”.
As reported by Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster, the Iran nuclear agreement of 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has been imperilled by a possible United States exit. US President Donald Trump has demanded that signatories fix “the terrible flaws” in the accord before May 12, when the sanctions exemptions are due to expire.
Trump has described the Iran agreement as “the worst deal ever” and shares the concern of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran won’t uphold its side of the bargain. Yet, neither Netanyahu nor Trump has proposed an alternative agreement in the event that the current deal is scrapped, reported DW.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government responded positively on May 7. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told state television: “If we can get what we want from a deal without America, then Iran will continue to remain committed to the deal. What Iran wants is in our interests to be guaranteed by its non-American signatories… In that case, getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran”.
In a separate report, the Reuters news agency noted that France, Britain and Germany will be the three countries to keep to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
“We are determined to save this deal because this accord safeguards against nuclear proliferation and is the right way to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Berlin.
