US Vice President calls for EU to leave Iran nuclear deal and for countries to be vigilant to Huawei security threat

US Vice President Mike Pence has urged European countries to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and remain “vigilant” to the security threat posed by Huawei.

European officials defied the US demands and said the continent stood united in commitment to the deal, which prevents Iran from working on its nuclear programme in return for relief on sanctions.

Read more: Iran says it has found new 'potential' oil buyers despite US sanctions

Pence, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, called for the EU to follow the US lead in withdrawing from the deal.

He said: “The time has come for our European partners to stand with us and with the Iranian people,"

"The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal."

Pence also warned of the security threat posed by Huawei adding to growing fears that the Chinese telecoms giant was spying for the Chinese government.

Italy and Germany are among the western countries to have sought to exclude Huawei amid its planned 5G rollout, according to reports.

"The United States has also been very clear with our security partners on the threat posed by Huawei and other Chinese telecom companies," Pence said.

"We must protect our critical telecom infrastructure and America is calling on all our security partners to be vigilant."

Earlier today Angela Merkel, also speaking in Munich, called for global cooperation and questioned whether the US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal was the right move.

Read more: 5G needs a better security regime, say network operators

She said: “The only question is how we attain our mutual goal…do we do that by terminating our agreement or by using the small amount of leverage we do have (via the nuclear deal)?" she said.

"This is a tactical question."

Yesterday German foreign minister Heiko Maas defied US demands – and previous criticism by Pence – making it clear that Germany, France, the UK and the EU were committed to the deal.