"This is a responsible deal and Israel should also take a closer look at it and not criticize the agreement in a very coarse way," Steinmeier told German broadcaster ARD in an interview on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the deal as a "stunning, historic mistake" and said it would enable Iran to pursue a path to nuclear weapons.

But Steinmeier said the basis for the agreement was transparency and the ability to monitor Iran's compliance.

"In the agreement, Iran has to commit to these monitoring possibilities. And we will make sure that the monitoring possibilities are also observed after this deal," he said.

(Writing by Caroline Copley, editing by Larry King)