German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Iran’s missile program and its political influence in Syria needed to be discussed, adding that this was a widespread position in the European Union.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Merkel said it was important for Israel to quickly make the information it has on Iran available to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Reuters quoted her as saying that the nuclear deal with Iran should not be canceled but its negotiating framework needed to be broadened.
“We will continue with our argumentation, namely keeping the JCPOA (nuclear deal) plus expansion of the negotiating framework,” Merkel said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave details on Monday of what he said was evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program, in a bid to encourage the United States to pull out this month of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
US President Donald Trump is reportedly poised to scrap the agreement ahead of a May 12 deadline for Washington to renew its support for the deal.
European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have been pressing Trump to strengthen rather than abandon the three-year-old deal that took more than a decade to reach.
"I don't know what the US president will decide on May 12," Macron said Wednesday during a two-day visit to Sydney, speaking alongside Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
