German envoy visits Iran to mediate as tensions rise

A senior German diplomat was in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with Iranian officials to try to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and cool rising tensions in the region, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.

Jens Ploetner, a political director in the Foreign Ministry, planned to meet Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as well as other officials on his visit, the German source said.

Britain, France and Germany, which signed the 2015 deal along with the United States, China and Russia, are determined to show they can compensate for last year’s U.S. withdrawal from the deal, protect trade and still dissuade Tehran from quitting an accord designed to prevent it developing a nuclear bomb.

But Iran’s decision earlier this month to backtrack from some commitments in response to U.S. moves to cripple its economy threatens to unravel the deal, under which Tehran agreed to curbs on its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the removal of most international sanctions.

“At the center of the political director’s visit is the preservation of the Vienna nuclear accord (JCPOA),” the German diplomatic source told Reuters.

“After Iran’s announcement to partly suspend its commitments under the JCPOA, there is a window of opportunity for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue to fully comply with the JCPOA.”