It will be difficult to protect German businesses that continue doing business in Iran after the US reimposes sanctions, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday.

"I don't see any simple solution to shield companies from all the risks of American sanctions," Maas told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump decided to pull his country out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and announced Washington would also impose sanctions against Iran.

With Germany, France, Britain and the EU vowing to remain committed to the international deal, businesses have been thrust in the middle. Foreign firms that continue doing business in Iran will face US penalties once the sanctions come into force.

"The talks with the Europeans, Iran and the other signatories to the agreement are therefore also about how it can be possible to continue trade with Iran," Maas said told the paper.

Read more: How will Iran's economy hold up if sanctions return?

Watch video 01:55 Share Iran aircraft deals at risk Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2xXvM Iran aircraft deals at risk

Europeans hope to negotiate broader deal

The foreign minister said the European partners are working on ways to ensure Iran would continue to abide by the rules of the nuclear deal.

He also reiterated German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron's stance that a broader deal should be negotiated to address Iran's "problematic role in the region."

"After all, Iran is ready to talk. It's clear that there should also be economic incentives — that will not be easy after the US decision," Maas said.

US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell vows 'no trade war' with EU

Donald Trump: deal-breaker abroad and at home Iran nuclear deal The "worst deal ever": That's how Donald Trump described the 2015 landmark agreement that lifted international sanctions against Iran in exchange for the country dismantling its atomic program. In May 2018 the president followed through on a campaign promise and said he would withdraw the US from the deal, which had arisen out of painstaking multi-year negotiations.

Donald Trump: deal-breaker abroad and at home Trans-Pacific Partnership In February 2016 then-US President Barack Obama signed the free trade agreement known as the TPP along with 11 other Pacific nations. However, it never went into effect: Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order that took the US out of the deal, thus keeping it from entering into force. The scuttled TPP evolved into a new regional trade partnership — without the US.

Donald Trump: deal-breaker abroad and at home Paris Agreement The Paris climate accord was adopted in December 2015 after the COP 21 meeting. All 195 participating member states and the EU agreed to reduce emissions, decrease carbon output and try to rein in global warming. The US signed the accord but support was short-lived: in November 2017 Trump told the UN that the US would withdrawal from the accord at the earliest possible date, November 2019.

Donald Trump: deal-breaker abroad and at home Domestic environmental regulations Trump not only has undone US participation in international climate deals but also has scrapped domestic environmental regulations. Scott Pruit, Trump's head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced in March 2018 that Obama-era vehicle emissions standards would be rolled back. And at the very start of his term, Trump also said he would review the Clean Water Act and Clean Power Plan.

Donald Trump: deal-breaker abroad and at home Affordable Care Act The ACA, nicknamed "Obamacare," was landmark legislation that roughly halved the number of medically uninsured Americans through program expansion and insurance mandates. Its critics, Trump among them, described it as federal government overreach that would cause skyrocketing health costs for individuals. While total repeal has failed, Republicans did do away with the mandate in 2017 tax reform. Author: Cristina Burack



Germany, France trying to secure exemptions

European leaders are walking a fine line in trying to save the accord with Iran and to safeguard the investments of their companies.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz spoke with his US counterpart Steve Mnuchin in order to secure an exemption for German firms from the sanctions penalties, according to a report from German newspaper Handelsblatt on Friday.

Bruno Le Maire, France's finance minister, also said he spoke with Mnuchin about getting an exemption for French firms that are present in Iran, including Renault, Total and Peugeot.

The 2015 deal between major world powers and Iran meant that crippling international sanctions would be lifted in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear program.

Iran's foreign minister is due to meet for talks in Brussels this upcoming Tuesday with his German, French and British counterparts.

Watch video 00:34 Merkel: pulling out of Iran deal 'violates trust'

rs/aw (dpa, Reuters)Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.