Heiko Maas and Mike Pompeo
Heiko Maas and Mike PompeoReuters

Europe and the United States remain “far from a compromise” over Washington’s position on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to Reuters.

Maas said no new information came up during the meeting, and said he had suggested a four-way meeting with Germany, Britain, France and the United States about a way forward.

“I think we’re far away from a compromise,” the German minister acknowledged.

President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that he would pull out of the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and would reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic that were frozen as part of the agreement.

While Trump withdrew from the Iran deal and announced he would reimpose sanctions on Iran, the European Union did not follow suit, and said it would remain in the agreement and will do so “as long as Iran continues to implement its nuclear related commitments, as it is doing so far.”

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said last week that the European signatories to the agreement are talking about solutions to keep the deal alive.

Britain, Germany and France have been attempting to find a compromise that would allow the U.S. to remain in the deal while addressing Trump’s concerns.

Earlier this week, Pompeo announced that Washington would impose unprecedented sanctions against the Islamic Republic following its withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

On Tuesday, the Secretary of State said that the demands he made of Iran are not that difficult to implement.

“The benchmark I set forward yesterday is a very low standard. It’s the standard behavior we expect from countries all around the world,” he said, adding the U.S. expects Iran “to behave the way normal, non-belligerent nations behave.”