EU pushback on Pence scolding – Sabotage suspect in sat launch failures

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BERLIN, Feb 16, (Agencies): German Chancellor Angela Merkel Saturday defended Iran’s nuclear deal, saying Europeans and Americans are agreed on putting pressure on Iran, but there are divergent views on relevant mechanisms.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Merkel backed European powers’ decision to stand by the Iran nuclear deal, describing it as an “anchor” allowing the West to exert pressure. She added that the split over Iran “depresses me very much,” but downplayed the substance of the differences.

Merkel’s remarks came just a couple of days after US Vice-President Mike Pence accused Germany, France and Britain of trying to break American sanctions on Iran and called on them to follow Washington in pulling out of the nuclear deal.

The three European powers, along with Russia, China and the US, signed the 2015 agreement meant to curb Iran’s path toward nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief.

The Munich Security Conference is an annual gathering of top global defense and foreign policy officials. Germany’s foreign minister on Friday slammed US President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade measures as creating a “lose-lose” situation and defended Europe’s attempts to keep a nuclear deal with Iran alive after the unilateral American withdrawal.

Heiko Maas fired back after harsh criticism from Pence of some of Washington’s closest European allies. Maas told a conference of world leaders and top diplomats and defense officials that Germany, Britain, France and the European Union as a whole were committed to preserving the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from obtaining a bomb. “Without it, one thing is clear, the region would be no safer but instead a step closer to an open confrontation, with all of the implications that would have on Europe’s own security,” he said.

Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday in an interview with NBC News in Munich, Germany, that it’s possible there is a US sabotage campaign against Iranian satellite launches. He confirmed that Iran suffered two failed attempts to launch satellites over the past two months.

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