Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel discuss Iran nuclear deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the Iran nuclear deal after Washington announced its withdrawal from it earlier, the Kremlin said on Friday.

U.S President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the 2015 deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran restricting its nuclear programme in return, did not go much further in removing the threat posed by Iran to the U.S and its allies in the Middle East.

“The Chancellor underlined that Germany - as well as France and Great Britain - will remain committed to nuclear agreement with Iran, as long as Iran would continue to fulfil its obligations under the agreement,” spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

“The Chancellor spoke in favor of holding talks in an extended format with states involved and Iran on its ballistic missiles program and activities in the region such as the ones in Syria and Yemen,” he added.