Heiko Maas has announced he will travel to Tehran next week in an effort to salvage the Iran nuclear deal. Maas, the first German diplomat to visit Iran in over two years, will meet counterpart Mohammad Zarif on Monday.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will travel to Tehran to meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Zarif, a ministry spokesperson announced Thursday.
It will be the first trip by a German minister to Iran in 2 1/2 years.
What's on the agenda?
Maas will visit Iran on Monday as part of a three-country Middle East tour.
The first stop will be Jordan on Friday, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Iran.
The minister will push for "calm and de-escalation" in the "crises of the region."
He will explore options to preserve the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" (JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
Maas will hear assessments of the situation from regional partners.
Maas: 'No one wants war with Iran, and that's how it should remain'
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Laying the groundwork
Maas, who "coordinated" his trip with London and Paris, will seek to glean information as to how exactly Germany can keep Iran in the deal. He also informed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of the trip when the US diplomat was in Berlin last week. A top Foreign Ministry adviser, Jens Plötner, traveled to Tehran two weeks ago to lay the groundwork for Monday's meeting , provoking US irritation.
Carry a 'twin message': German Green party lawmaker Omid Nouripour told DW it was "praiseworthy" that Maas had sought consultation with the UK and France. "He needs to reaffirm the twin message that we are prepared to invest more in saving the nuclear deal, as it is in our security interests to not have a nuclearized Middle East," the foreign policy expert added. Maas also had to impress on Iran the importance of dialogue with the US as the "only way to avoid military conflict."
Tightening the screws: After the US reimposed sanctions on Iran, as well as countries and companies doing business with Iran, the government in Tehran threatened to pull out of part of the agreement unless other signatories could offer help to stem the pain of the US sanctions. Tehran has given China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain until Friday to offer solutions.
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.
