needs payment systems independent of US to save JCPOA: Germany

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says European countries need to adopt payment systems independent of the United States if they seek to keep a historic nuclear deal signed with Iran alive after Washington's withdrawal from it.

In his statement written in the Handelsblatt business daily, the German foreign minister added that it was "right to legally protect European companies from sanctions."

"That's why it is indispensable that we strengthen European autonomy by creating payment channels that are independent of the United States, a European Monetary Fund and an independent SWIFT system," Mass said in the article to be published on Wednesday.

The United States has ramped up pressure on Iran after US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington in May from the landmark nuclear agreement, reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015, and decided to re-impose unilateral sanctions against Tehran.

Under the deal, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

In defiance of warnings from the European Union, the JCPOA signatories and many international players, President Trump signed an executive order on August 6 re-imposing a first round of sanctions on Iran, which were lifted under the nuclear deal, to levy "maximum economic pressure" on the Islamic Republic.

The top German diplomat emphasized that Europe considered as a mistake the US move to pull out of the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but was ready to work with the United States.

"Every day the deal is alive is better than the highly explosive crisis that would otherwise threaten the Middle East," he added.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that European countries must be ready to bear the expenses if they want to safeguard their long-term interests in the face of the United States’ law-breaking behavior after quitting a nuclear deal with Iran.

Earlier this month, the European Union threatened to impose sanctions on companies that stop doing business with Iran in compliance with the US sanctions snapback mechanism.

EA