By staff and agency

Germany: Dismantling nuclear deal will be a ‘grave mistake’

January 27, 2017 - 20:15

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned U.S. President Donald Trump that annulling the nuclear accord with Iran will be a “grave mistake”.

Steinmeier said annulling the deal could trigger a war in the Middle East, which would not be in the interest of the United States or Israel, according to Reuters. 

Iran and the 5+1 group - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany - finalized the text of the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in Vienna in July 2015.

The UN Security Council turned the JCPOA into international law by endorsing a resolution, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran.

In a speech in March to a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington Trump said his “number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran”. However, he later backed down from his rhetoric saying it was difficult to violate a deal which has been approved by the UN Security Council.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on November 9 that the JCPOA is a “multilateral agreement” and that she is tasked to guarantee its full implementation.

EU foreign ministers also issued a statement on November 14 reiterating the 28-nation bloc’s “resolute” commitment to the implementation of the nuclear agreement.

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