Facing imminent deadlines, US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel largely papered over their differences on the 2015 Iran nuclear accord on Friday.
Still, Merkel's brief visit, coupled with French President Emmanuel Macron's more lavish stopover earlier in the week, made clear that the US president's divisions with European allies remain substantial, AP reported.
Trump and Merkel's three-hour visit at the White House contained little of the backslapping geniality that defined Macron's three-day trip, including a lavish state dinner. While Trump and Macron complimented and embraced each other, the German chancellor kept her public statements brief and handshakes formal.
Trump is widely expected to withdraw the US from the international Iran agreement next month, despite pleas from Macron earlier in the week and Merkel on Friday. Yet Merkel used her public comments after her meeting with Trump to try to gloss over that disagreement, calling the Obama-era accord a "first step" toward curtailing and containing what she claimed were Iran's regional ambitions and suggesting openness to a side agreement.
"We also think that this is not sufficient in order to see to it that Iran's ambitions are curbed and contained," she added.
Trump has said he, too, is open to new negotiations with Iran. But he has not said he will heed European calls for the US to stay in the deal, which aims to restrict Iran's nuclear efforts, while any further talks are underway. His decision on whether to exit the deal is expected by May 12 and he forcefully set out what he sees as the ultimate goal.
"They're not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it," Trump declared at a news conference with Merkel.
Tehran has repeatedly denied its nuclear program may have any military dimensions. It has also rejected any side agreement to the deal, calling on all signatories to carry out their duties under the agreement in their entireties.
***Trump Unlikely to Keep Deal
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday Trump is unlikely to keep the US in the Iran nuclear deal past the next deadline to certify the deal in May, CNN reported.
"The president has been clear–absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the shortcomings, the flaws of the deal–he is unlikely to stay in that deal past this May," Pompeo told reporters during a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Pompeo was to go from Brussels, where he met with NATO allies and focused primarily on the threat from Russia, to the Middle East, where Iran will likely be the major point of discussion.
EU nations continue to strongly support the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and have been working with US negotiators to find ways to address Trump's complaints, but during Macron's visit it seemed increasingly clear that the US president will walk away and push for some other approach.
Sources familiar with Trump's conversations with Macron suggest that a separate agreement is under discussion that has the force of a treaty that will exist alongside the original nuclear deal.
Pompeo said that "there has been no decision made" yet and the "team is working".
He added that during his Mideast stops he would be talking about Trump's concerns and "about ways to potentially address those shortcomings."
***No Deal Without US
A senior Iranian lawmaker said Tehran would definitely withdraw from the accord should the US pull out of it.
Mojtaba Zolnour, chairman of Majlis Nuclear Committee, said on Saturday that "JCPOA would amount to nothing in case of a US withdrawal. There would be no sense in Iran's compliance either, as it would no longer benefit the nation," ICANA reported.
He cast doubt on Europeans' capability to keep the historic agreement alive without the US, saying they have to toe the US line at the end of the day.
The US will not allow Europeans to let Iran reap any economic benefits from the deal, he added.
He also said the fact that European companies have so far been reluctant to increase their business activities with Iran is a clear sign of the US backstage pressure–something that proves the uncooperative approach of the US regarding the deal since its inception.
