Envoy: Germany to expand cooperation with Iran in defiance of US

German Ambassador to Tehran Michael Klor-Berchtold says Germany is seriously determined to expand cooperation with Iran no matter what decision Washington takes, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Speaking in a meeting with Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian in Tehran on Tuesday, Klor-Berchtold said Donald Trump’s May 12 decision on the JCPOA will be for Washington not Europe.

He said German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will have a meeting with Trump in the coming days, which shows Europe is in intensive efforts to maintain and preserve the JCPOA.

Ardakanian said, ‘Iran and Germany should continue cooperation irrespective of the US President’s decision. Iran has a history of 6,000 years and May 12 and Trump decision do not question Iran.’

He added that there are positive grounds for more cooperation with Iran and it is hoped that mutual cooperation will expand, using current capacity.

On regional cooperation, the German diplomat said regarding Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s idea of regional cooperation, Iran-Germany-Afghanistan cooperation in water-related issues is on the agenda.

‘We should move towards the kind of cooperation being beyond controversial issues and water is among the points which can serve as a factor of peace high on the agenda of regional cooperation.

The diplomat said investment in Kerman and Hamedan solar power plant construction reveals German party’s trust; cooperation between the two countries will further expand in the future.

According to Iran Customs Administration Office, Germany exported $3.083 billion worth of goods to Iran in 2017-18 and Iran-Germany trade volume hit 9.2 billion euros in the post-JCPOA era.

Over the past two years, German’a exports to Iran grew by 15 percent.