Reuters - Germany is working on maintaining a legal channel for trade with Iran, a government spokesman said on Monday, after Iran last week eased curbs on its nuclear program and threatened moves that might breach a 2015 international nuclear pact.

“Along with our E3 partners, we’re undertaking efforts to keep enabling legitimate trade with Iran, in particular by providing a payment channel,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a regular news conference.

“E3” stands for Germany, France and Britain, which are parties to an international treaty that seeks to lift trade barriers with Iran while preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons.

EU leaders are set to talk about Iran with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Brussels on Monday.

Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Michelle Martin