Emmanuel Macron told his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday that Iran must “now seize” the opportunity to preserve the Vienna agreement on Iranian nuclear power, the French presidency said.
During a 90-minute telephone exchange, “the President of the Republic stressed the imperative need to conclude an agreement while there is still time”, underlined the Elysée in a press release.
On this occasion, Emmanuel Macron “expressed the conviction that the discussions held with the active participation of France and its partners have made it possible to reach a solution that respects the essential interests of all the stakeholders, which would make it possible to avoid a serious nuclear crisis”.
Consequently, the French president underlined that “Iran must now seize this opportunity and take the political decisions which will make it possible to preserve the Vienna agreement, in the interest of Iran and of all”.
The United States reported on Thursday “substantial progress” during the negotiations in Vienna to save the Iranian nuclear agreement, judging a possible agreement “in the coming days” if Iran “shows seriousness”.
The talks in Vienna aim to save the 2015 agreement which allowed the lifting of international economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for strict limits on its nuclear program supposed to prevent it from acquiring the atomic bomb.
The United States left it in 2018 under the presidency of Donald Trump, who considered it insufficient, and reinstated its sanctions. In response, Tehran has largely freed itself from restrictions on its nuclear activities.
The negotiations are now taking place between signatories who are still members of the agreement (China, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Iran), with the indirect participation of the United States, which is not negotiating face-to-face with Tehran.