German, French foreign ministers exhort US not to quit Iran deal

«We fear that a failure would lead to escalations and that we would regress to the times before 2013,» German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said at a meeting with his counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Maas said that the world was safer with the agreement than without it and that the European signatories to the deal had prepared good recommendations for their US partners.

A May 12 deadline is looming for the US president to decide whether to continue backing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran or reimpose sanctions on Tehran, which would mean scrapping the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA), as the deal is known officially.

The deal – sealed by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama with the support of China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain – eased sanctions on Tehran in exchange for commitments to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

Both the German and French chief diplomats pledged their continued commitment to the agreement, regardless of Washington’s decision.

«We see no alternatives to the control mechanisms on and the restrictions to the Iranian atomic programme.»

Earlier Monday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson used an opinion piece in the New York Times to pressure Trump over the deal.

«At this delicate juncture, it would be a mistake to walk away from the nuclear agreement and remove the restraints that it places on Iran,» Johnson wrote.

Source: dpa