Speaking at his weekly press conference on Monday, Qassemi rejected the German weekly Der Spiegel’s claim about Berlin’s consultation with Europeans for imposing sanctions on Iran, saying that such issues are just in the media and Tehran has not received such signals from the German government.
He also stressed that the mutual ties are growing and such speculations should not be taken seriously.
“For sure, the German government is smart enough to deal with such claims and issues with great care,” underscored Qassemi.
Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday that Germany is lobbying among European allies to impose new sanctions against Iran in an attempt to prevent US President Donald Trump from terminating an international deal curbing Tehran’s nuclear program.
The report cited diplomats in Brussels as saying that Germany was pushing for new sanctions together with Britain and France to show the United States that European allies were taking Trump’s criticism against Iran seriously.
A German foreign ministry spokeswoman and another government spokesman both declined to comment on the report.
The report also added that Germany wants to punish Iran for its missile program and its meddling in conflicts in other Middle East countries, such as the war in Yemen and Syria.