German Foreign Ministry: no reason to abandon Iran nuclear deal

Berlin has every reason to not abandon or jeopardize the Iranian nuclear deal , German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said, speaking on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting.

Gabriel said that he agreed with U.S. officials that Iran had not changed its behavior in the Middle East after the agreement was reached - a matter that required attention, but not as part of the nuclear agreement.

"I am convinced that neither the volatile and charged situation in the region, nor Iran’s behavior will improve if the nuclear agreement goes out of force,” Reuters cited him as saying.

Any move by Washington to cancel the agreement would be a “terrible signal” for all other efforts to use diplomacy to halt nuclear weapons programs, such as those of North Korea.

“Because no one has the impression anymore that international negotiations are worth and one has to assume that such an agreement can be canceled after a short time,” he added.

The United States said on Wednesday it is weighing whether its interests were served by the deal under which Tehran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in return for the loosening of economic sanctions that have crippled its economy.