Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will press Chancellor Angela Merkel during talks in Berlin today to curb German trade with Iran and steer efforts to tighten sanctions against the Iranian government.
Germany “must take the lead in harsher sanctions against Iran,” Netanyahu told reporters in Berlin yesterday after meeting with German President Horst Koehler. While he welcomed Germany’s “aggressive” policy on Iran that has seen trade cut, he said there’s room for a “significant further reduction.”
The U.S., along with France, the U.K. and Germany have been pressing Iran to drop its uranium enrichment program in return for help in developing civil nuclear capabilities. Together with China and Russia, which both hold vetoes at the United Nations Security Council, they have voted through three rounds of sanctions in an attempt to penalize Iran for breaking its commitments under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Merkel has repeatedly said that she is prepared to back tougher sanctions against Iran if it doesn’t cease its nuclear activities. President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday that France is ready to support a “substantial” increase in sanctions to discourage Iran from expanding its nuclear program.
