Germany’s
Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on September 21 that Berlin will try to
persuade the United States not to abandon the Iranian nuclear agreement.
Speaking to
reporters on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting in New York, Gabriel
said any US move to cancel the Iran deal and impose new sanctions on Tehran
would discourage powers such as North Korea from negotiating an end to their
own nuclear programmes.
As reported
by the Reuters news agency, the foreign minister said Germany would work with
the European Union, France, Britain and where possible China and Russia to
press Washington to preserve the deal, under which Iran curbed its nuclear work
in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
Gabriel
said Germany would maintain its position on the Iran deal, regardless of which
parties formed the next government. Elections will be held on September 24.
US
President Donald Trump, who has called the Iran deal “an embarrassment”, has
until October 15 to decide whether to certify that Iran is complying with the
pact. If he does not, Congress has 60 days to decide whether to reimpose
sanctions waived under the accord.
“Now we will all try to convince the Americans
in the remaining weeks… that calling the agreement into question will not
increase security,” Gabriel told reporters in New York.
Back in
Berlin, German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said Germany, as one of Iran’s
most important trading partners in Europe, had a “great interest” in preserving
the agreement.
German
exports to Iran rose 23% to €1.4bn euros in the first six months of 2017.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/germany-will-strive-save-iran-nuclear-deal/