Germany's Maas heading to Tehran for nuclear talks

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will visit Iran as part of a three-country Middle East tour next week.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas attends a meeting with his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz (not pictured) during his visit in Warsaw Poland, March 16, 2018 (photo credit: REUTERS)
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas attends a meeting with his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz (not pictured) during his visit in Warsaw Poland, March 16, 2018
(photo credit: REUTERS)
BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will visit Iran as part of a three-country Middle East tour next week, during which he will explore options for preserving a fraying nuclear non-proliferation pact, a ministry spokeswoman said.

The trip, timed to coincide with the end of the Muslim festival of Ramadan, will take in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates as well as Tehran, ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr told a regular news conference on Thursday.

She added that the trip had been agreed and coordinated with Britain and France, both of which support the non-proliferation deal they signed with Iran, and had also been discussed with Mike Pompeo, chief diplomat of the United States, which has repudiated the agreement.