As the US warned Iran of more sanctions, Iran spoke tough and urged the European powers to step in and rescue its international nuclear deal. A day after Washington warned of  “the strongest sanctions in history” if Iran failed to make a series of sweeping changes, top Iranian politicians and military officers responded  with strong words. “The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this and they will deliver a strong punch to the mouth of the American Secretary of State and anyone who backs them,” said Ismail Kowsari, a senior commander with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency.

On May 19, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had said that the Iran Nuclear Deal 2015 is better than having none. As per Deutsche Welle, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks over the recent exit of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal also called as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) at Sochi in Russia.

Russia agreed with Europe's stand to remain part of the nuclear deal.

Further, Angela Merkel said, "I know that the deal is anything but perfect but it is better than no deal."

She added that "Germany, Britain, France, and all our partners in the European Union continue to support this deal and remain in this deal and we know that a very specific situation arose that we Europeans need to discuss with Iran."

Merkel said that the European Union is "currently discussing" a law that would block US sanctions on European companies wanting to invest in Iran.

On May 8, President Trump announced the US withdrawal from the JCPOA which limited the country's uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

Reportedly, the European Union is miffed with the United States President Donald Trump over his decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

As per certain media reports on Wednesday, the European Union has slammed the United States saying that it acted more as an enemy than a friend. (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 11:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).