FRANKFURT: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that she and other leaders were concerned about Iran's uranium enrichment and called for a return to the negotiating table for a nuclear deal. She was speaking after the United States, Germany, France and Britain urged Iran to resume compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal in order to "avoid a dangerous escalation".

"We are counting on a return of Iran to the negotiating table. But the clock is ticking. Uranium enrichment is occurring in Iran and this deeply concerns us," she said on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rome.