After US President Donald Trump convinced last week his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to question the merits of a nuclear deal signed in 2015 with Iran, it was the turn of German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday to consider the pact “not sufficient” to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Standing alongside Trump at the White House, Merkel told reporters that the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed by Tehran and six world powers including Germany and the US, is “a first step that has contributed to slowing down their activities in this particular respect.”
However, she stated: “We also think from a German perspective that this is not sufficient in order to see to it that Iran’s ambitions are curbed and contained.”
The Chancellor, who returned to Washington after her meeting with Trump in March last year, said Europe and the US should be in lock step on this.
According to Merkel, "it is most important to see that Iran, after all, is trying to insert a geopolitical influence" in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
For his part, Trump said he discussed with Merkel "the Iranian regime that fuels violence, bloodshed and chaos all across the Middle East."
Trump has threatened to tear up the 2015 agreement to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in return for relief from international sanctions.
The US President also discussed with his German guest ways to prevent Tehran from possessing nuclear weapons.
He said the "murderous regime" in Iran must "not even get close to a nuclear weapon," and must end its proliferation of dangerous missiles and its support for terrorism.
In Brussels, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Friday that Trump was unlikely to remain in the nuclear pact if the accord goes unchanged.
The US President also said he "may go" to Jerusalem next month to attend a ceremony celebrating the opening of the American embassy in the city.
