The leaders of Britain, France, and Germany agreed Sunday that the Iran nuclear deal remains the “best way” to stop Tehran’s nuclear threat, even as President Trump threatens to quit the agreement.
“They discussed the importance of the Iran nuclear deal … as the best way of neutralizing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, agreeing that our priority as an international community remained preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,” British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said in a statement Sunday.
“They agreed that there were important elements that the deal does not cover, but which we need to address — including ballistic missiles, what happens when the deal expires, and Iran’s destabilizing regional activity.”
May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron also pledged to “continue working closely” with the U.S. on the issue, including on “those issues that a new deal might cover.”
Those three European countries, along with the U.S., Russia, and China, are party to the 2015 nuclear deal that required Iran to limit its nuclear program in exchange for relieving sanctions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was confirmed by the Senate Thursday, said Trump is unlikely to keep the U.S in the Iran nuclear deal past the May 12 deadline for him to certify the agreement, meaning he must decide whether to continue waiving sanctions on Tehran.
Trump contends the deal is not sufficient because it doesn’t cover Iran’s ballistic missile program or its hostile regional behavior, and some of the nuclear provisions expire. The Europeans and Americans are negotiating potential side agreements to address those issues.
This past week, Macron and Merkel had separate meetings with Trump in Washington, where they lobbied the president to stay in the Iran nuclear deal.
