Free Republic

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says Berlin is set to change its policy towards the US after Washington’s walkout on the Iran nuclear deal. In the comments published by the German Spiegel magazine on Friday, Maas addressed the diplomatic crisis that saw Donald Trump ignore the appeals of the USA’s European allies to keep the deal in place. While Germany intends to continue seeking cooperation with the US, Maas said his country would take a tougher stance towards Washington.“We are prepared to talk, negotiate and also fight for our interests where necessary,” Maas told Spiegel. “This goes for all levels,...

One unintended consequence of Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Iran nuclear agreement has been to bring Germany and Russia together again. German-Russian relations had soured because of alleged Russian cyberattacks and the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea. But the US President’s hardline policy on around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran has intensified the search for common ground in Berlin and Moscow. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on May 18, and on Friday morning the two spoke on the telephone. “The importance of...

he United States and its negotiating partners agreed "in secret" to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in last year's landmark nuclear agreement in order to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions, according to a think tank report published on Thursday. The report, which was released by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, is based on information provided by several officials of governments involved in the negotiations. The group's president David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and co-author of the report, declined to identify the officials, and Reuters could not independently...

"A source in the American government said this evening that the Bush declaration obligates all administrations and is an official "executive agreement" in every respect." So triumphantly proclaimed Israel Television Channel One Mabat Evening News anchor Chaim Yavin on the 15 April broadcast. Under 11 FAM 720 "Negotiation and Signature" - State Department Circular No. 175, December 13, 1955 as amended (known as the "Circular 175 Procedure") the president can indeed make an "executive agreement" that is an "international agreement other than a treaty" that is pursuant to his constitutional authority as Chief Executive to represent the nation in foreign...