The Israeli and German leaders may have stressed commonalities, but on Iran's nuclear potential they're miles apart. Benjamin Netanyahu even warned that Iran's activities could unleash a new wave of refugees to Europe.
Netanyahu claims Iran finances conflict with the proceeds made on the back of eased sanctions. The Israeli prime minister is on tour trying to persuade European countries to follow US President Donald Trump's move of tearing up the deal.
A year after Donald Trump pulled the US from the international nuclear accord with Iran, the Middle East nation announced it would no longer adhere to some "voluntary commitments" in the accord.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/D. Calma
The deal breaker
President Donald Trump announced on May 8, 2018 that he was pulling the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, arguing that the international accord was not in America's "national interest." The decision threw a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the nuclear accord and raised tensions with US allies in Europe.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Slap in the face
Britain, France and Germany lobbied the Trump administration and Congress to remain in the nuclear accord, arguing that the deal was working and a US violation without a follow up plan would be destabilizing. In European capitals, the Trump administration's withdrawal was viewed as a slap in the face of allies.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
Iran scrap 'voluntary commitments'
A year to the day after Trump's announcement, Iran informed the other signatories of the accord that they would no longer adhere to certain "voluntary commitments." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the signatory nations had 60 days to implement promises to protect Iran's oil and banking sectors or Iran would resume the enrichment of uranium.
The decision came after the United States deployed an aircraft, the USS Lincoln, along with a bomber task force to the Middle East. Washington said the deployment was intended as a "clear unmistakable message." Iran said it took action because the European Union and others "did not have the power to resist US pressure."
Image: AP
A triumph of diplomacy
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed in 2015 by United States, China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain (P5+1) and Iran following years of negotiations. Under the international agreement, Iran agreed to dismantle its nuclear program and be subject to monitoring in exchange for the lifting of international nuclear related sanctions.
Image: picture alliance / landov
Compliance and verification
The JCPOA includes a robust monitoring, verification and inspection regime carried out by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The UN watch dog has verified Iran's compliance with the deal in 12 quarterly reports. The JCPOA allows Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear program for commercial, medical and industrial purposes in line with international non-proliferation standards.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Schlager
Obama's achievement
The Iran nuclear deal was President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievement. Seeking to undo nearly every Obama administration legacy, Trump came into office calling it the "worst deal ever." The Trump administration argues the nuclear deal doesn't address other unrelated issues such as Iran's ballistic missiles, regional influence, support for "terrorist" groups and human rights.
Image: Reuters/Y. Gripas
Iranians approved
The nuclear deal and lifting of punishing nuclear related international sanctions created optimism in Iran after years of economic isolation. However, even before Trump pulled the US out of the deal, Tehran blamed the US for holding back international investment and not fulfilling its end of the bargain due to the uncertainty created by Trump's threats.
Image: picture alliance/AA/F. Bahrami
The opponents
After eight years with Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found the US president he wanted in Donald Trump. The Israeli leader repeatedly slammed the deal despite his own military and intelligence chiefs' assessment the that JCPOA, while not perfect, was working and should be maintained. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the other main opponents of the nuclear deal.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Who's left?
The EU-3 (Britain, France, Germany) have scrambled to ensure that Iran receives the economic benefits it was promised in order to avoid Tehran pulling out of the deal. As EU businesses face retaliation from the US for doing business with Iran, many are opting to avoid Iran. This would likely be a present to Chinese and Russian businesses.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
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Postponing the problem?
Fielding questions from reporters, Merkel said that Germany and Israel shared the goal of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but disagreed on the means to that end.
Merkel said that before the UN-sponsored deal Iran had been close to developing such weapons and that the deal would guarantee "more transparency."
Netanyahu countered that the deal would give Iran permission to develop "unlimited" amounts of enriched uranium in the future in return for not enriching uranium now. He said that was unacceptable.
But he insisted that there was "no problem at all" in communications between Germany and Iran.
Iranian businesses under threat from Trump
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Merkel conceded that that Berlin and Tel Aviv didn't see eye to eye on the topic, but insisted that there was consensus about ending Iran's "worrisome" involvement in the Syrian civil war.
"There's not agreement on every issue, but we're friends and there's a will to understand the other's position," Merkel said.
Netanyahu praised Germany's commitment to Israel's security and to fighting anti-Semitism. But he was keen to stress that "radical Islam" was the greatest danger faced by the world today, and said that Iran continued to call for Israel's destruction.
He also claimed that Tehran intended to start a "religious war" within the Islamic world, which he warned would lead to further masses of refugees who would try to flee to Europe — a pointed reference to the issue that is widely regarded as Merkel's Achilles heel.
The two leaders also discussed Israel's occupation of Palestinian territoriesImage: Reuters/A. Cohen
The Palestinian questions
An Israeli journalist also asked Merkel why Germany did not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital as the United States has.
A German journalist asked Netanyahu when Israel would cease occupying Palestinian territories in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu said that Israel was willing to negotiate a peace settlement, but added that the Gaza Strip was ruled by Hamas and others who called for Israel's destruction.
"If you're interested in peace, Israel cannot afford to have additional Palestinian territories used against us," Netanyahu said. "The reason there is no peace is that the Palestinians refused to recognize the Jewish state."
Breach of protocol
Despite being pressed on a range of global concerns of some magnitude, it was a question about Richard Grenell that appeared to cause Netanyahu the most discomfort. The new US ambassador to Berlin stirred controversy in Germany over the weekend with an interview he gave to the ultra-conservative Breitbart News site. Grenell said he saw his task as "empowering" Europe's rising right-wing.
The Israeli prime minister attempted to play down a planned meeting with Grenell when quizzed about the encounter by a reporter. Meeting representatives of a third-party country on official visits would constitute an embarassing breach of diplomatic protocol.
"I am going to meet him briefly at the airport. I wouldn't draw any meaning into that that just doesn't exist," Netanyahu said.
