BERLIN (Reuters) - A senior ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that the United States had made a “grave mistake” in pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and said Germany and the European Union should not follow the U.S. lead.

Juergen Hardt, who was until recently Germany’s transatlantic coordinator and is now a foreign policy expert for Merkel’s conservatives, also said: “Based on Iran’s behavior up until now with regard to its obligations in the agreement, there is no reason for Europe to re-introduce sanctions against Iran.”