Germany: We will remain committed to nuclear deal

By Ayhan Simsek BERLIN Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed on Wednesday that Germany, France and Britain will remain committed to the nuclear deal with Iran, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the agreement. Speaking at an event of her Christian Democrats in Berlin, Merkel voiced regret over Trump’s decision, but said they were determined to preserve the agreement. “We will continue with our commitment to this agreement and make every effort to ensure that Iran will also fulfill its commitments in future,” she said. Merkel underlined that so far Iran has lived up to its commitments, according to the reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Trump on Tuesday claimed that Iran had lied about its nuclear program and pulled the U.S. out of the landmark deal that world powers struck in 2015 with Iran. The U.S. president also accused Tehran for destabilizing the region with “sinister activities” in Syria, Yemen, and other places all around the world. Merkel acknowledged international concerns over Iran’s influence in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and its ballistic missile program, but underlined that these issues should be discussed with Tehran, without abandoning the nuclear deal. In July 2015, P5+1 group of countries -- the U.S., the U.K., France, China, Russia and Germany -- signed with Iran the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). World powers agreed to lift some of the economic sanctions imposed on Iran in return for the latter agreeing to limit its nuclear activity to peaceful and civilian purposes.