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Germany urges peaceful solution to Iran crisis

May 24, 2019 at 6:27 pm

German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes a speech during a press conference within the EU Leaders Summit in Brussels, Belgium on 22 March, 2019 [Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency]

Germany on Friday urged a peaceful solution to tensions between US and Iran ahead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Berlin next week, Anadolu Agency reports.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, deputy government spokeswoman Martina Fietz said recent tensions with Iran over its nuclear program and role in the region would be among the topics of Merkel-Pompeo meeting on May 31.

“As you know the Federal Government believes that all the issues regarding Iran can only be solved in a peaceful way, through talks and agreements. And of course the Chancellor would express this position during her meeting with Mr. Pompeo,” she said.

Earlier this month, Pompeo had cancelled a long-planned visit to Berlin at short notice and travelled to Baghdad, amid reports in the US media that claimed Iran or affiliated groups ware preparing to attack American troops in Iraq.

Recent weeks have seen steadily mounting tensions between Tehran and the Washington.

READ: Germany seeks to be a mediator in Iran-US relations

On Sunday, following a rocket attack near the US Embassy in Baghdad, President Donald Trump told Iran not to threaten the US, saying it will be Tehran’s “official end”.

Last week, the US deployed a carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf, citing “intelligence” of an imminent Iranian attack on US interests in the region.

Tehran responded to the escalation by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a main artery for global oil shipments linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea.

Despite US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran with new sanctions, EU heavyweights — Germany, France and the UK — continue to back the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.

The agreement foresees lifting economic sanctions imposed on Iran in return for Tehran agreeing to limit its nuclear activity to peaceful and civilian purposes.