Macron believes an agreement “still possible”
The French president estimated on Saturday that an agreement with Tehran about its nuclear program was still possible.
President Emmanuel Macron on Friday July 22 during his meeting with Egyptian President al-Sissi.
AFP
Emmanuel Macron estimated that the relaunch of the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement “was still possible”, provided that “intervene as soon as possible”, after a meeting on Saturday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi.
“With regard to the 2015 nuclear agreement”, supposed to prevent Tehran from acquiring the atomic bomb in exchange for the lifting of sanctions suffocating its economy, “the President of the Republic reiterated his conviction that a solution aimed at to return to its full implementation was still possible but that it had to intervene as soon as possible, ”said the Elysée in a press release.
“Several months after the suspension of negotiations in Vienna”, Emmanuel Macron “expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress and insisted with President Raïssi on the need to make the clear choice to conclude the agreement and return to the implementation of its nuclear commitments”, added the French presidency. Talks in Vienna between Iran and major powers including Washington to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have stalled since March.
At the end of June, Qatar organized indirect talks in Doha between Iran and the United States – which withdrew from the agreement in 2018 – in the hope of putting the Vienna process back on track, but these discussions have were discontinued after two days without any breakthrough. During the interview with Emmanuel Macron, which lasted two hours, “Mr. Raisi condemned the actions and unconstructive positions of the United States and European countries” in the nuclear file, according to the Iranian presidency.
Last week, an Iranian official confirmed that Tehran had “the technical capacity to manufacture a nuclear bomb”, while specifying in the process that Iran had however “not taken the decision to (make) it”. The Iranian Foreign Ministry also assured that there was “no change” in its nuclear policy, referring to a fatwa which prohibits “weapons of mass destruction”.
In addition, according to the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron “reiterated his deep concern about the situation of the four French nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran”, asking for “their immediate release”. They are Benjamin Brière, sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for espionage, which he contests; of the Franco-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, sentenced in May 2020 to five years’ imprisonment for attacks on national security and of two trade unionists, detained since May 11 while they were doing tourism and accused of “undermining the security” of the country.
AFP
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