Senior German diplomat in Tehran for nuclear deal talks
BERLIN -- A senior German diplomat headed Thursday to Tehran to press Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear deal, despite the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. and increasing pressure from Washington.
Germany's Foreign Ministry sent its political director, Jens Ploetner, to Iran to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to try to salvage the nuclear deal signed in 2015 in Vienna. The accord has steadily unraveled since the Trump administration pulled America out of the deal, re-imposed and escalated U.S. sanctions on Tehran last year.
Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that Arghchi demanded that European signatories follow through on their commitments under the deal. According to the report, Ploetner said the European side will continue to work to meet Iran's demands and save the deal. The report did not elaborate.
The German envoy's visit follows Iran's declaration earlier this month that the remaining signatories to the deal -- Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia -- have two months to develop a plan to shield Iran from American sanctions.
