The German Chancellor is calling for a diplomatic solution to a nuclear dispute at the time of a phone call with Iran’s president, who wants the only way forward for the US to repeal ‘inhuman’ sanctions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on Iran to take steps to ensure its return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, in a rare phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Talks between the two leaders came on Wednesday ahead of next week’s Iran-scheduled deadline for new US President Joe Biden to begin restoring brutal sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump , forward, or take the biggest step yet to break the treaty – banning briefing studies by the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
“She expressed her concern that Iran continues to fail in its obligations under the nuclear deal,” Merkel ‘s argument, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement following the phone call.
“Now is the time for positive signals that will create trust and increase the chances of a diplomatic solution,” the chancellor told Rouhani, he said.
The Biden administration has said it wants to reverse the agreement signed between Iran and world powers, from which Trump withdrew the U.S. unilaterally in May 2018. However, Washington insists Iran must return to all promises it has begun to reinstate in response to Trump’s move before sanctions can be lifted.
For his part, Rouhani told Merkel that it would be “impossible” to add anything to the nuclear deal, citing European and U.S. calls also to include talks on a missile program. Iran and regional influence in “nuclear plus deal”.
“If we are to really look at the Integrated Action Plan (JCPOA) and maintain its objectives, we need to see its effectiveness in action within the frameworks designed and Europe must prove it in action, “Rouhani told Merkel, according to his website, citing the official name of the treaty.
The only way forward for the U.S. is to revoke its “illegal and illegal” sanctions on Iran, Rouhani said.
Iran has also suggested that the head of the European Union’s foreign policy and the head of the JCPOA Joint Commission Josep Borrell “choreograph” return at the same time to full compliance under the treaty with both sides.
Rouhani further told Merkel that his government has no choice but to restrict access to international nuclear observers next week according to a law passed by Iran’s parliament in December.
Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that on February 23, it will stop implementing a number of “transparency measures” that it is currently pursuing voluntarily. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi will be in Tehran on Saturday for talks, Iran’s ambassador to the nuclear watchdog said Wednesday.
The call came between Merkel and Rouhani on the eve of emergency talks between three European countries and the US on how to save the JCPOA.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will host his German and British peers in Paris, with new US chief diplomat Antony Blinken coming together via video conference, the French foreign ministry said .
On Tuesday, Rouhani held a phone call with Swiss President Guy Parmelin, in which he expressed hope that a Swiss humanitarian channel set up after the implementation of U.S. sanctions could handle more transactions and Ioran.