The day: Maas sees nuclear deal with Iran at a crossroads

Monday, December 21, 2020

The day
Maas sees nuclear deal with Iran at a crossroads

The international nuclear deal with Iran has long been considered a great diplomatic success. The pact is supposed to prevent the Islamic Republic from building an atomic bomb. Five years after its creation, however, SPD Foreign Minister Heiko Maas now sees him at a crossroads. In view of the basically positive signals from Washington it is now up to Iran to keep the arms control agreement alive.

Foreign Minister Maas fears an arms escalation in the region.

(Photo: picture alliance / dpa)

"The opportunity that now presents itself this last time window must not be gambled away", Maas appealed to Tehran after a ministerial meeting of top diplomats from Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, China and Iran. Since the US left the agreement in May 2018, Iran has gradually withdrawn from the agreement. Most recently, the Islamic Republic had its course "Tactical maneuvers" like this are no longer allowed, according to Maas.

The remaining partners reaffirmed their will to keep the agreement alive. "The ministers paid tribute to them Prospect of a US return in the JCPoA (the agreement, editor's note) and underlined their willingness to take this up in a positive joint effort ", it said in a statement.

The possible rescue of the agreement is about nothing less than the question of whether or not the decades-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program can be permanently resolved by negotiation, said Maas. Otherwise, there is a threat of arms escalation in the region. "A scenario that must cause us great concern because for us the Israel’s security is paramount Has."