The French president continues his mediation in the Iranian case. After the G7 discussions, Emmanuel Macron and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani met on Saturday. On that occasion, the President of the Islamic Republic warned that his country could break away a little more from its commitment to military nuclear power. “If Europe cannot implement its commitments, Iran will take a third step to reduce its JCPOA commitments” (the 2015 nuclear agreement), threatened Mr Rouhani. However, there is still hope. The Iranian president added that “this step, like the two previous ones, will be reversible”. Mohammad Javad Zarif told the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that this step could be taken on 6 September.
Rouhani is still ready to negotiate
Mr Rouhani also criticized once again the Europeans for not having taken “concrete measures” to maintain economic exchanges with Iran, which had been suffocated by American sanctions. For his part, Emmanuel Macron once again “stressed the importance of the ongoing momentum to create the conditions for de-escalation through dialogue and the construction of a lasting solution in the region”, according to the Elysée. For France, “the important thing was to check, after the G7 debate on Iran, that the parameters of the negotiations remain valid and that President Rouhani is still available to negotiate. And ” it is,” asserts a French diplomatic source.
Paris believes that Iran must return to its JCPOA commitments on the one hand, and Donald Trump must take a break from its economic sanctions, for example by allowing Iran to export some of its oil. On the other hand, neither French nor Iranian sources indicated whether the two leaders had referred to Emmanuel Macron’s call for a Trump-Rouhani meeting, for which each sets as a condition that the other make the first concessions.
Tensions are rising between Israel and Hezbollah
Paris also “reiterated the need for Iran to comply fully with its nuclear obligations and take the necessary measures for the restoration of peace and security in the Middle East,” the Elysée said. More specifically, the French President called on Iran to “act to put an end to the fighting and open negotiations in Yemen” and called for “the utmost restraint in Lebanon” as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah rise. Mediation should therefore take a long time.
