German Chancellor Angela Merkel today urged Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to send positive messages to increase the chances of returning to the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 and to end the confrontation with Western powers. This comes a day before a meeting between the foreign ministers of the US, France, Germany, and Britain to discuss the Iranian nuclear file.
Merkel's spokesperson stated that the Chancellor informed Rouhani in a telephone call that she is concerned about Tehran's violation of its commitments under the nuclear agreement, which US President Joe Biden wishes to return to if Iran halts its nuclear activities. The spokesperson added in a statement, "It is time for positive gestures that build trust and increase the chances for a diplomatic solution." In response, Rouhani told Merkel that "if the Europeans want to maintain the nuclear agreement, they must prove it practically."
The Iranian leadership insists that Washington must first take the initiative to return to the agreement that former President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from in 2018 and to retract the stringent sanctions imposed by Trump's administration afterward. Prior to the phone call, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated that what is required from the United States is "actions, not words" if it wants to revive the nuclear agreement. Khamenei added in a speech broadcasted by the official Iranian television that Iran's response regarding the nuclear agreement would be proportional to the actions taken by the other parties signatory to the agreement, indicating that there had been many promises regarding the nuclear agreement in the past, but without any practical steps for implementation.
As part of diplomatic efforts to revive the nuclear agreement, the spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry announced today that Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will host his German counterpart Heiko Maas and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in Paris, with the US Secretary of State joining them via video call in a meeting "primarily dedicated to Iran and regional security in the Middle East."
