German chancellor reaffirms commitment to nuclear deal with Iran, despite Israeli misgivings about Tehran’s intentions
Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed Monday Germany’s commitment to the nuclear deal with Iran, despite Israeli claims that Tehran was cheating on the agreement.
“We [Europeans] believe that the JCPOA is an opportunity to keep Iran’s nuclear activities under control for a specified time, and prevent a nuclear-armed Iran,” she told a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following their meeting in Berlin.
Merkel said they were in agreement with Netanyahu on the need to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, but had different views on the best way to achieve this.
U.S. President Donald Trump last month pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear agreement with Iran, claiming that Iran was running a secret program to build nuclear weapons.
Iran nuclear deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Tehran and world’s major powers China, Russia, France, the U.K., and U.S., plus Germany.
Merkel stressed Monday that the Iran nuclear agreement has so far provided more transparency into Tehran’s nuclear activities.
But she also urged the UN’s nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to carefully examine recent material submitted by Israel, allegedly on Iran’s secret program.
“I believe that this is absolutely essential for greater transparency,” she said.
Israel claimed last month that its intelligence services had obtained 55,000 pages of Iranian documents revealing how Tehran allegedly lied to the world after signing a landmark deal in 2015 to curb its nuclear program.
