Merkel for solutions to Iran’s ‘aggressive tendencies’

AMMAN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday said European countries shared concerns over Iran’s ballistic missile programme and called for solutions to its “aggressive tendencies” in the Middle East.

“Iran’s aggressive tendencies must not only be discussed, but rather we need solutions urgently,” she said after meeting Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman. She announced 384 million euros ($445 million) of aid to Jordan this year.

Germany has remained party to the Iran nuclear deal, which lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbing its atomic programme, after US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in May. Merkel said on Thursday that while European countries wanted to maintain the 2015 accord, they shared concerns over Iran’s ballistic missile programme, its presence in Syria and its role in the war in Yemen. In Syria, Iran is a big military supporter of President Bashar al-Assad, sending some of its own forces there and backing Shi’ite militias from Lebanon and Iraq who are fighting on the ground.

Gulf and Western countries accuse Tehran of arming the Houthi group in Yemen, which it denies. She also voiced support for Jordanian concern about Iranian activity in southwestern Syria, near its border and that of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where Tehran’s ally Damascus is ramping up a military operation. “You live not just with the Syria conflict, but also we see Iran’s activities with regard to Israel’s security and with regard to Jordan’s border,” she said.