Angela Merkel Visits Washington to Discuss JCPOA

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on April 26. The political leaders of Germany and France are coming to the U.S. closely together to discuss the nuclear agreement with Iran, which has been contentious. Merkel and Emmanuel Macron are both arriving close to their meeting with Trump, and it has been reported that one of the main issues of discussion between the parties will be ways to preserve the nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA. Donald Trump, who has always been a serious critic of the Iran nuclear deal, emphasized three months ago when announcing a temporary lifting of some sanctions on Iran under the JCPOA that if the U.S. Congress and its European allies do not succeed in correcting the 'catastrophic flaws' of the JCPOA, he will not extend the lifting of sanctions on Iran and may even withdraw from the agreement. Israel and Saudi Arabia are also considered opponents of this agreement. Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, described the agreement as 'full of flaws and defects.' Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, emphasized on Monday the 'vital' importance of preserving the Iran nuclear agreement, stating that the EU, in cooperation with the United States, is working to ensure that all parties are fully committed to the comprehensive implementation of the JCPOA. Iran has stated that the U.S. exit from the JCPOA means its end and has warned that it will resume nuclear activities that it had halted under the Vienna agreement. Germany, France, and Britain attempted to propose further sanctions against Iran to satisfy Trump. However, due to opposition from Italy, Austria, and Spain, additional sanctions against Iran did not reach an agreement within the EU. The deadline that Trump mentioned ends on May 12, and the U.S. President expects that by then, four major flaws of the JCPOA will be addressed: that some limitations of the JCPOA are temporary, that the JCPOA does not address Iran's missile program, that inspectors from the agency do not inspect all sites in Iran, and finally, that the JCPOA does not guarantee that Iran will remain permanently free of nuclear weapons.