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Senior German lawmaker worried by Trump's lack of Mideast policy

BERLIN - A contender to be the next German foreign minister urged US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday not to cancel the Iran nuclear deal or move too close to Moscow, saying such policy shifts could cause more instability in the Middle East.
Rolf Muetzenich, a potential successor to Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier if the latter is elected German president in February, said Trump had not articulated a clear agenda for the Middle East, creating a "conceptual vacuum."
"We have to prepare for difficult situations, particularly if Trump and the Republicans try to cancel the Iran nuclear deal," Muetzenich, foreign policy speaker for Germany's Social Democrats, told broadcaster Suedwestrundfunk.
During the campaign, Trump was critical of the nuclear deal struck under President Barack Obama in which Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.