Germany’s Scholz: Now is ‘moment of truth’ for nuke deal, Iran must make a choice

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that “now is the moment of truth” to determine whether Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers can be salvaged, and the Iranian leadership needs to make a choice.

Negotiators from Iran and the remaining parties to the agreement — Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — are working in Vienna to restore life to the accord, which granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

The United States has participated indirectly in the talks because it withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then-US president Donald Trump. US President Joe Biden has signaled that he wants to rejoin the deal.

Under Trump, the US reimposed heavy sanctions on Iran. Tehran has responded by publicly increasing the purity and amounts of uranium it enriches and stockpiles, in breach of the accord — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Scholz told participants at the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday that talks have come a long way over the past 10 months and “all elements for a conclusion of the negotiations are on the table.”

But he also criticized Iran for stepping up its enrichment and restricting inspections by monitors from the UN nuclear agency.

In this August 20, 2010 photo, an Iranian security guard walks past a gate of the Bushehr nuclear power plant as its reactor building is seen in background, just outside the city of Bushehr 750 miles (1,245 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

“We now have the opportunity to reach an agreement that makes it possible for sanctions to be lifted,” Scholz said. “At the same time, it’s the case that if we don’t succeed very quickly in this, the negotiations threaten to fail.”

“The Iranian leadership now has a choice,” the chancellor said. “Now is the moment of truth.”

Meanwhile, Israel is readying for world powers and Iran to reach an agreement next week to revive the deal, Israeli television reported Friday, despite Jerusalem’s efforts to lobby against a return to the multilateral accord.

Israel opposed the original agreement when it was signed in 2015, with then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arguing that it actually paved the path to an Iranian nuclear arsenal. Israel has publicly vowed it will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons.

Quoting an unnamed Israeli security official, Channel 13 news reported that while Israel considered the original deal to have been bad, the revived accord taking shape is “spectacularly bad,” as it does not factor in the progress Iran has made since.

Negotiators still have a number of issues to settle before a deal can be signed, but Israel believes that will still happen next week, according to reports.

Accordingly, Jerusalem is preparing a number of actions it plans to take in the coming days, including holding briefings with ambassadors and a possible public address by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett responding to an announcement of a resurrected JCPOA.

In addition, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz will hold private conversations with officials on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.