Merkel, who was attending the conference in Egypt on behalf of the EU, said that Europe remains committed to the nuclear deal but deeply concerned about Iranian aggression towards other countries. This, she told a crowd in Sharm El Sheikh, meant that the Arab League and Europe have much to discuss regarding their dealings with Iran

She then discussed the dire situation in Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthis have ousted the legitimate government, repressed the Yemeni people, and sent Iran-made missiles at Saudi Arabia, which is leading the Arab Coalition to reinstate the internationally recognised government. Iran has purposefully stopped a ceasefire from taking place.

She said: “As the second conflict I’ve named the terrible humanitarian situation in Yemen. Here we have first rays of hope because of the Stockholm process and we have to support the work of US delegate Griffith so that we can achieve long-term and sustainable ceasefire especially in the city Al Hudaydah and can then start to find a political solution step by step.”

She also condemned Iran for the suppression of minorities in Yemen, but what she said could easily be applied to the Regime’s oppression of its own people.
She said: “I do not believe that you can get peace by suppressing minorities and this is my basic understanding and I also made this clear.”

This summit comes at a time when tensions are rising between Iran and other nations, especially the US, which pulled out of the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran in order to cut off Iran’s ability to fund terrorism and weapons proliferation.

Donald Trump faced opposition from the EU, Russia and China for leaving what he termed a “horrible, one-sided deal”. He said he wants to get even tougher with Iran in order to obtain “a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime’s malign activities, including its ballistic missile program and its support for terrorism”.
The takeaway for all European countries should be that they should abandon their relations with Iran and reimpose sanctions, just as the US has done.