Iranian Press Depicts German FM as Israel-sympathizing Nazi

A regime-linked Iranian news outlet published a political cartoon of German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass wearing sunglasses with Star of David lenses and giving a Nazi salute. Berlin’s top diplomat was in Tehran earlier this week in a bid to salvage the 2015 nuclear accord, from which U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew last year. European parties to the accord – Britain, France and Germany – have vowed to set up a complex financial instrument to permit continued trade with the Islamic Republic, although its implementation has been delayed for months. Iran has given these countries until July to come up with a solution or face the prospect of Tehran accelerating its nuclear program. The issue remains up in the air, however, given reports that the Trump Administration is considering applying economic sanctions on any mechanism that would grant Iran access to global financial markets, including those in Europe. Tehran’s anti-Semitic criticism of Mass comes as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is slated to arrive in the Iranian capital today. Abe is expected to act as an intermediary between the mullahs and the White House in a bid to ease tensions in the Gulf. Meanwhile, for the first time since the atomic accord was forged, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog warned on Monday that Tehran might no longer be living up to its atomic-related commitments – specifically that the country has increased the rate of its uranium enrichment.