EU, US officials plan Berlin talks on Iran nuclear deal

European and US officials are planning to meet in Berlin in March for talks on Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, a German Foreign Ministry source said on Wednesday.

Hailed by its admirers as key to stopping Iran from building a nuclear bomb, the deal lifted economic sanctions in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear programme. It was signed by the United States, China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union.

But US President Donald Trump has long railed against the deal for reasons including its limited duration and the fact it does not cover Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

Trump has threatened to pull out of the agreement unless European allies help “fix” it with a follow-up accord.

Britain, France and Germany have called on Trump to uphold the pact.

Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes and that it will stick to the accord as long as the other signatories respect it but will “shred” the deal if Washington pulls out.

Read: Iran says it can discuss other issues if nuclear deal successful