German Chancellor Merkel, in Israel, Calls on Iran To Return to Nuclear Talks
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a farewell visit to Israel, called for Iran to return to negotiations to restart its nuclear agreement with world powers, while Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel would do everything in her power to stop Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon.
Merkel held a round of meetings in Israel on Sunday. She is currently heading a caretaker government until a new government can be formed following last month’s elections. Merkel had announced after elections in 2018 that she would retire by 2021.
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“This is a critical point in time, and Germany’s position is crucial. In Israel, we are taking action and operating against Iran in every dimension – including daily actions to stop it flooding our region with weapons,” Bennett said during a news conference. “For us, it is an existential issue,” he added.
“The nuclear agreement is not ideal, but we are now in a difficult situation because the Iranians are not entering talks and are continuing to enrich uranium,” Merkel said. “Without an agreement, we will be in a worse situation,” she added.
Merkel praised the relationship between Israel and Germany, telling Bennett: “I continue to consider it a stroke of good fortune given to us by history that after the crimes against humanity of the Shoah, it has been possible to reset and to reestablish relations between Germany and Israel to the extent that we have done. I want to use this opportunity to emphasize that the topic of Israel’s security will always be of central importance and a central topic of every German government.”
Merkel met with Bennett and joined a meeting of the full Israeli Cabinet, and had lunch with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. She was scheduled to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum, meet Israeli high-tech leaders and receive an honorary doctorate from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
