German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that European relations with the United States have taken a hit, after Washington’s decision to pull out of the nuclear agreement. Speaking at a congress of the Confederation of German Trade Unions, Merkel emphasized that while Europe was not blind to Iran’s dangerous activities, it still believed that sticking to the nuclear deal was the best way forward. ” We have experienced a setback in German-U.S. and European-U.S. relations because we: Great Britain, Germany and France are of the opinion that the deal against Iran’s nuclear armament is a deal that while it certainly has weaknesses is a deal that we should stand behind. The U.S. president sees it differently. And now we have to see. We are not blind to things, it is not that we don’t see that Iran – especially in its involvement in Syria – is, for example, a potential threat to Israel. Israel celebrated its 70th birthday yesterday and Israel’s right to exist and the security of Israel is meshed into the German state’s foundation but we still believe that with the deal we would have had a better foundation to talk with Iran about further deals than we do now after a deal was prematurely broken off that was unanimously agreed on and introduced by the UN Security Council,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
The comments made by the German Chancellor came just several hours after she spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the two leaders discussed regional issues. The Prime Minister said during the conversation that in the wake of President Trump’s declaration opportunities have been created to rein in Iran’s aggression and prevent its military nuclearization. Netanyahu also took the opportunity to thank German Chancellor Merkel for condemning Iran’s aggression against Israel and for her continued support of Israel’s right to defend its sovereignty.