German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that the nuclear agreement with Iran is no longer sufficient, and called for its expansion to include Iran's ballistic programs and Iran's role in the region.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the West to abide by its previous pledges.

In an interview with Der Spiegel, Maas emphasized that "there should be additions to the nuclear deal, which is in our interest as well."

"We have clear expectations from Iran that there will be no nuclear weapons, but without a ballistic missile program that threatens the entire region," he added, stressing that he understood these points with his French and British counterparts.

"In addition, Iran should play another role in the region. We need this agreement precisely because we have no confidence in Iran," he added.

Part of previous Iranian (European) maneuvers

Fulfillment of obligations

On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the German foreign minister should push the Europeans to fulfill their obligations to the nuclear deal before demanding a new agreement.

Zarif called on Germany, Britain and France to stop what he described as destructive behavior in the region.

Zarif added that the European Troika should stop its blind support for Israel, as he described it, and stop 100 billion dollars from arms sales to some Gulf countries.

In turn, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned against leaving the opportunity for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

And he demanded - during his participation Friday in the "Manama Dialogue" - to continue pressure on Tehran to come to the negotiating table and give up exporting its policy.

Pompeo warned of the consequences of leniency with Iran, saying, "If they come to the table and express their willingness only to negotiate the closure of some (nuclear) centrifuges for a few months or a few years, the world will not find this sufficient."

"We know that our campaign is yielding results, because the Iranians now express a strong desire to return to the negotiating table in order to ease the sanctions," the US secretary said.

Last Wednesday, US President-elect Joe Biden affirmed that he supports his country's return to the agreement in the event that the Iranian authorities return to "strict respect" for restrictions imposed on its nuclear program, before negotiations on other threats from Tehran.

In a nuclear facility in Iran (Reuters)

Trump withdrawal

In 2018, the outgoing US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement that his country, China, Russia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom concluded with Iran;

To prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons, considering it insufficient to prevent its "destabilizing" practices.

In the aftermath, the Republican president reimposed US sanctions, which were lifted from Tehran in 2015, and then tightened them.

This angered Washington's European allies, who are trying to salvage the deal.

Biden confirmed Wednesday his project to return to this agreement, and told The New York Times, "It will be difficult, but yes."

Biden announced that only after Washington and Iran returned to the agreement, "in consultation with our allies and partners, we will launch negotiations and follow-up agreements to tighten and extend the nuclear restrictions imposed on Iran, and to address Iran's missile programs."