Pompeo: Europe Not 'Helpful' as Could be over Soleimani Killing

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that Washington's European allies had not been "as helpful" as he hoped over the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.

Pompeo called officials worldwide to discuss the attack, which was praised by US President Donald Trump's Republicans and close ally Israel, but elsewhere met with sharp warnings it could inflame regional tensions.

"I spent the last day and a half, two days, talking to partners in the region, sharing with them what we were doing, why we were doing it, seeking their assistance. They've all been fantastic," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.

"And then talking to our partners in other places that haven't been quite as good. Frankly, the Europeans haven't been as helpful as I wish that they could be," he said.

US officials said Soleimani, who had been blacklisted by the US, was killed when a drone hit his vehicle near Baghdad's international airport.

Following the assassination, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called on all involved actors "to exercise maximum restraint and show responsibility in this crucial moment." 

Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron urged those involved to act with "restraint" while British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said de-escalation would be key.

"The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well," Pompeo said.

"This was a good thing for the entire world, and we are urging everyone in the world to get behind what the United States is trying to do to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to simply behave like a normal nation," he added.

Pompeo said earlier in the day that Soleimani was planning imminent action that threatened American citizens when he was killed in the strike.

Photo: IRNA

Iran’s Rouhani Upbeat on European Plan to Save Nuclear Deal

By Arsalan Shahla

Iran’s president gave an upbeat assessment of a European plan to ease the crisis over the 2015 nuclear deal that has threatened to tip the Gulf region into war.

In a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Hassan Rouhani said he found the main terms of a four-point proposal, spearheaded by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, to revive the embattled accord “acceptable.”

The plan calls for Washington to remove sanctions on Iran, allowing the Islamic Republic to export its oil and collect the revenue, in return for an Iranian commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons and help ensure Gulf security, he said. The original framework of nations that signed the deal would be reconstituted, including the U.S.

The comments are the strongest signal yet from Iran that discussions with Europe to find a way out of the nuclear crisis are making progress after months of deadlock. But major challenges remain, especially over sequencing. In public at least, Iran insists it won’t talk until sanctions are lifted, while President Donald Trump has said Tehran must offer concessions to get the penalties eased.

The U.S. wants a more comprehensive agreement that also covers Iran’s missile program and support for Middle East proxy forces.

‘Risk Worth Taking’

To make progress, “either the U.S. accepts that some degree of sanctions relaxation is necessary at first,” said Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council of Foreign Relations. “Or the Iranians come to the conclusion that there’s a risk worth taking in having some degree of direct contact” with a U.S. administration they don’t trust.

Rouhani, who’s under intense pressure from hardliners in Tehran to abandon an accord that’s not delivering the hoped-for economic benefits, said more work was needed on the wording of the plan during expected negotiations with European countries.

Since Trump ended U.S. participation in the deal last year and reimposed sweeping sanctions, tensions have risen in the oil-rich Gulf. Tankers have been attacked and seized, drone aircraft downed by either side and there’s been an escalation in fighting between Iranian and U.S. allies involved in the Yemen war.

Macron and other world powers made frantic but ultimately unsuccessful efforts to broker some sort of meeting between Rouhani and Trump at the United Nations General Assembly last week.

In a speech to commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei again admonished U.S. officials, saying their so-called “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran had failed.

Iran would carry on scaling back its compliance with the nuclear deal’s limits on enrichment while Europe attempts to meet Tehran’s demands, he said.

“We will continue to reduce our commitments and we should do so resolutely,” Khamenei said, according to his official website.

UN Meeting

The Macron plan includes a $15 billion credit line that would enable Iran to export oil and would also restore the P5+1 framework of nations -- France, the U.K., Russia, China, Germany and the U.S. -- that were signatories to the nuclear accord.

Rouhani said his European counterparts had asked him at the UN summit to offer alternative suggestions for the plan’s phrasing so that they could be discussed and negotiated by European and Iranian ministers.

Speaking to reporters as he left cabinet with Rouhani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif appeared more cautious. Macron’s proposal “doesn’t reflect our viewpoints” and needed “negotiations to precisely discuss the issues,” he said.

Zarif praised the French president’s enthusiasm for a deal, though, and said he’s been sent a formal invitation to visit Tehran.

“We will continue to maintain contacts, including the calls with France,” Zarif said, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

Ahead of the UN meeting, there had been growing speculation that Trump would meet Rouhani in New York. But talks never materialized amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran after an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.

The U.S. and leading European nations blamed the strike on Iran, which in turn pointed to the Yemeni Houthi rebels it assists in their four-year war with a Saudi-led coalition.

Impoverished and shattered Yemen is currently the top battleground in the tussle for influence between Shiite Muslim Iran and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.

The oil-facility attacks rammed home the dangers of letting the war fester on, spurring attempts to build on recent cease-fire pledges and move to talks.

Photo: IRNA

Rouhani Would Not Take Trump's Call, Says French Diplomatic Source

US President Donald Trump phoned his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN summit last month but he refused to take the call, a French diplomatic source said on Tuesday.

The call happened on September 24, the source said, after French President Emmanuel Macron had shuttled between the US and Iranian leaders in a bid to arrange a historic encounter that he hoped would reduce the risk of all-out war in the Middle East.

"In New York, up to the last moment, Emmanuel Macron tried to broker contact, as his talks with presidents Trump and Rouhani led him to think contact was possible," the diplomatic source said.

Speculation was abuzz last month that the leaders could meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

But Rouhani said he would only hold talks with the US if Trump lifted economic sanctions on Tehran.

Macron used his 48 hours in New York to see Trump three times and Rouhani twice, urging them to engage directly.

The source said Macron made a last-ditch attempt before flying back to Paris, with French technicians installing a secure phone line linking Trump's Lotte hotel and the Millennium, hosting the Iranian delegation.

The plan involved Trump calling at 9pm despite doubts over the Iranian reaction.

Macron went to the Millennium to ensure the phone call took place. Trump made the call, but Rouhani informed the French president he would not take it, the source said.

"The discussion continued to founder on the Iranians first wanting US sanctions lifted. Donald Trump wants Iran first to make commitments on its nuclear (ambitions) and ballistic and regional activities," the source said.

The French diplomatic source comments come after US reports emerged earlier this week about Macron's initiative to get the leaders to talk.

Tensions have been escalating between Iran and the United States since May last year when President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear accord and began reimposing sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.

Britain, France and Germany have repeatedly said they are committed to saving the deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, but their efforts have so far borne little fruit.

Photo: IRNA

Macron Urges Iran and Rivals to Show ‘Courage of Building Peace’

By Gregory Viscusi

French President Emmanuel Macron laid out what he says are the conditions for dialing back tensions with Iran, calling on the U.S. and the Islamic Republic’s regional rivals to show “the courage of building peace.”

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Macron said the recent attack on Saudi oil facilities—which France and its European partners on Monday blamed on Iran—had “changed the situation.” He warned that “a small spark could set off a major conflict.”

Iran is putting “maximum pressure” on the region, Macron said, in a word play on Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against Tehran.

Macron said solving the crisis with Iran requires “full certainty that Iran never has nuclear weapons,” a settlement of the war in Yemen, a security plan for the region that safeguards maritime flows and, finally, the lifting of U.S.-led sanctions.

“I have no naivety and I don’t believe in miracles,” he said. “I believe in the courage of building peace, and I know the U.S. and Iran have this courage.”

Macron said the U.S., Iran and other participants in the 2015 accord to limit Iran’s nuclear program must sit down and negotiate. President Donald Trump quit the accord last year, reimposing sanctions that Macron and other European leaders tried but failed to circumvent.

Taking clear aim at Trump’s UN address earlier on Tuesday—when the American president said “the future does not belong to globalists, the future belongs to patriots”—Macron said that a “withdrawal into nationalism” won’t solve any crisis.

Photo: IRNA

European Leaders Say Iran Behind Saudi Attack, Urge Dialogue

The leaders of France, Germany and Britain on Monday agreed that Iran carried out this month's attack on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and called on Tehran to choose dialogue over further "provocation."

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed the conclusion of the United States on the blasts at the Abqaiq and Khurais facilities.

"It is clear for us that Iran bears responsibility for this attack. There is no other explanation," they said in a joint statement released by France after meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

But the three countries—which remain party to a nuclear deal with Iran from which President Donald Trump withdrew the United States—said the solution was diplomacy

"We call on Iran to commit to such a dialogue and to avoid any new provocation and escalation," they said.

"The attacks also highlight the need for a de-escalation in the region, for sustained diplomatic efforts and engagement with all sides."

The three nations said that they remained committed to the 2015 agreement with Iran that was negotiated under former president Barack Obama.

They called on Iran to come back into strict compliance.

Iran has taken several steps including installing centrifuges that are more advanced than allowed as a way to voice anger at not receiving sanctions relief promised under the deal.

Photo: IRNA

Trump Discussed Easing Iran Sanctions, Prompting Bolton Pushback

By Jennifer Jacobs, Saleha Mohsin, and Jenny Leonard

President Donald Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran to help secure a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month, prompting then-National Security Advisor John Bolton to argue forcefully against such a step, according to three people familiar with the matter.

After an Oval Office meeting on Monday when the idea came up, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced his support for the move as a way to restart negotiations with Iran, some of the people said. Later in the day, Trump decided to oust Bolton, whose departure was announced Tuesday.

The White House has started preparations for Trump to meet with Rouhani this month in New York on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly the week of Sept. 23, according to the people. It’s far from clear if the Iranians would agree to talks while tough American sanctions remain in place.

One scenario, shared by two of the people, would be that Trump joins a meeting between Rouhani and French President Emmanuel Macron. The people said they had no indication it would actually happen.

Brent oil prices fell more than 2% to $61.05 a barrel on the news.

While Trump has made no secret of his willingness to sit down with Iranian leaders -- a move that would break more than four decades of U.S. policy -- there are considerable political hurdles Trump would have to navigate if he wants it to happen. Nevertheless, Bolton’s ouster on Tuesday improves the odds of a meeting.

Bolton built his career on a hard-line approach toward Iran, long calling for preemptive strikes on the country to destroy its nuclear program. His sudden dismissal immediately fueled speculation—and worry in some quarters—that the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign might ease in a bid to lure Iranian leaders to the negotiating table.

Easing any sanctions without major concessions from Iran would undercut the pressure campaign that not only Bolton, but also Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Trump have said is the only effective way to make Iran change its behavior.

America’s European allies, frustrated by Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord and stymied by U.S. sanctions in their bid to trade with Iran, have been desperate to find a way to broker a deal between Washington and Tehran. Macron even invited Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, to talks on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in France last month and won verbal support from Trump for a sanctions reprieve. Then nothing happened.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, on the other hand, may have lost one of its staunchest allies with Bolton’s departure. Israeli officials, worried about legitimizing Iranian leaders, are concerned that the chances for such a meeting are increasing. Their chief fear is that U.S. sanctions could be scaled back and pressure on the regime eased, an Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But Iranian leaders, at least publicly, have spurned the suggestion of a Trump-Rouhani encounter, which would be strongly opposed by more conservative factions in Iran.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo who last year set out 12 demands that he said Iran must fulfill in order to become a “normal country,” may try to prevent Trump from softening his stance too drastically. He has, however, recently taken a more moderate tone in lockstep with the president, saying the U.S. is prepared to talk without preconditions.

One thing all sides agree on is that tensions have soared in recent months, with a spate of attacks on oil tankers in and around the Persian Gulf that have been blamed on Iran. The Islamic Republic shot down an American drone it said was over its territorial waters, prompting Trump to consider military strikes that he said he called off at the last minute.

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that at the very least, Bolton’s exit reduces the chances of a military escalation.

UN Meeting

“It’s too hard to say if a meeting will happen given the question of whether it’s politically palatable for both leaders,” said Kupchan. “But the likelihood of a meeting has gone up because one of its main detractors is now out of a job.”

If it happens, the most likely venue would be on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting later this month. But that doesn’t mean it will.

Top Iranian officials have in recent weeks sought to stamp out talk of a direct meeting between the leaders, with Zarif calling it “unimaginable” and Rouhani saying he’s not interested in a photo-op with the American president. That’s a subtle reference to America’s outreach with North Korea, which despite three meetings between Trump and Kim Jong Un hasn’t resulted in any breakthrough.

Oman Talks

For Rouhani, sitting down with Trump would be an immense political gamble with his nation’s economy weighed down by crippling American sanctions and no guarantee of an agreement that would allow Tehran to again legally sell oil. Mindful of the political risk of talks with the U.S., Iranians have long favored quiet discussions instead. The 2015 nuclear deal was preceded by years of back channel diplomacy among lower-level officials in Oman.

Nevertheless, Rouhani adviser Hesameddin Ashena tweeted on Tuesday that Bolton’s departure is a “decisive sign of the failure of the U.S. maximum pressure strategy in the face of the constructive resistance from Iran.”

Trump, with his 2020 re-election campaign already underway, would also have to overcome considerable political obstacles to reach any deal with Iran. Isolating and weakening the Islamic Republic is one foreign policy issue Republican lawmakers and conservative national security experts broadly agree upon. It’s also a rallying cry for conservative Jewish supporters of Israel and key Trump backers, such as casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

Obama Handshake

Regardless of whether a direct meeting takes place, diplomatic efforts to address Iran-U.S. tensions will be at the forefront of the UN gathering. Impromptu chats and sideline diplomacy are a hallmark of the annual gathering.

In 2015, a backstage handshake between President Barack Obama and Zarif generated headlines across the Middle East—and accusations by Iranian hardliners that Zarif was “unrevolutionary.” At this year’s assembly, Macron as well Japan’s Shinzo Abe plan to meet Rouhani as they try to break the impasse.

Bolton’s departure also leaves Pompeo, who had clashed with Bolton over several issues, in the unchallenged role as Trump’s closest aide on foreign policy. While Bolton often made his differences with the president clear, Pompeo has spent more than two and a half years in Trump’s orbit without letting much daylight come between himself and the president.

Asked on Tuesday if he could foresee a meeting between Trump and Rouhani during the UN meeting, Pompeo responded: “Sure,” adding, “The president’s made very clear, he is prepared to meet with no preconditions.”

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran Makes Big Diplomatic Push to Find Fix for Nuclear Staredown

By Abbas Al Lawati and Arsalan Shahla

Iran is ramping up negotiations as signs gather that it’s closer to ending a showdown with Europe over the wobbling 2015 nuclear deal and easing a security crisis in the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s top envoy Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks in Moscow with counterpart Sergei Lavrov as the threat of another erosion of Iran’s compliance with the accord looms. His deputy Abbas Araghchi went to Paris with a team of economists and central bank officials to discuss a French proposal to help restore Iran’s oil exports, the backbone of its economy.

The talks in Paris lasted 10 hours, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported, without giving details. It was Araghchi’s second trip to the French capital in less than six weeks, continuing the most substantive negotiations between Iran and a Western power since U.S. President Donald Trump exited the nuclear accord last year and slapped a slew of crippling sanctions on Iranian oil and other sectors.

Talks related to the agreement also took place in Vienna, Zarif’s spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

According to an Iranian lawmaker, the French proposal—hammered out in hours of telephone negotiations between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and French President Emmanuel Macron, and at a recent meeting with Zarif—includes a $15 billion credit line to Iran for oil “pre-purchases,” the semi-official Tasnim news reported, citing an interview with conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari.

France has suggested the money be paid in three installments and in return, Iran would lift its threat to ramp up atomic activities on Sept. 6 and eventually revert back to full compliance with the accord, Motahari said.

“Iran’s and France’s points of view have grown closer,” Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei told reporters at a news conference in Tehran, adding that Iran was “moving forward and advancing” in its efforts to resolve the crisis through talks.

Araghchi said Saturday that discussions between Trump and Macron at the Group of Seven summit last week “have shown flexibility with regard to Iran’s oil,” according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency. Trump said at the meeting in Biarritz that he’d agree to have other countries extend a letter of credit to Iran, secured against oil sales.

The U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May 2018 and crippling sanctioning of Iran’s economy triggered a security crisis that has rocked the Persian Gulf region with tanker attacks, tit-for-tat vessel seizures and the downing of military drones.

Washington’s actions also left Europe scrambling for an effective way to keep the deal alive without running afoul of U.S. sanctions.

“The French initiative is the last best hope for salvaging” the deal, said Ali Vaez at the International Crisis Group. “The key for its success is to provide Iran with some economic reprieve in the form of increased oil exports in return for compliance with the JCPOA and commitment to engage in new negotiations.”

Photo: IRNA

Iran's Rouhani Warns Macron of Looming Nuclear Step

By David Vujanovic

President Hassan Rouhani spoke with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, warning him Iran would take the next step in reducing its nuclear commitments unless Europe lives up to its own undertakings.

Tensions have spiked in the Gulf since May last year when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers—known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The escalation has seen ships attacked, drones downed and tankers seized in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for around a third of the world's sea-borne oil.

At the height of the crisis, Trump ordered strikes against Iran on June 21 before cancelling them at the last minute.

Macron has been leading efforts to de-escalate the situation, and expressed hopes at a G7 meeting last week of bringing Rouhani and Trump together for a meeting.

But Rouhani has played down the likelihood of that happening unless the United States first lifts crippling sanctions that it has slapped on Iran since pulling out of the deal.

"If Europe cannot operationalize its commitments, Iran will take its third step to reduce its JCPOA commitments," Rouhani told Macron in a phone call, quoted by the government website.

However, "this step, just like the other ones, will be reversible," he added.

"Unfortunately after this unilateral move by the US, European countries did not take concrete measures to implement their commitments.

"The contents of JCPOA are unchangeable and all parties must be committed to its contents," he said.

Rouhani said Iran had two priorities: for all parties to the JCPOA to fully implement their obligations and "securing the safety of all free maritime transportation in all waterways including the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.”

Economic Delegation

In a statement from his office, Macron stressed the importance of "the current dynamic to create the conditions for a de-escalation through dialogue and building a durable solution in the region".

A French diplomatic source said it was important, after recent discussions between Paris and Tehran, to establish that Rouhani was "still ready to negotiate. And that is the case".

Twelve months after the US pulled out of the nuclear deal, Iran began reducing its commitments under the accord.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Friday that just over 10 percent of Iran's uranium stockpile was now enriched up to 4.5 percent, above the 3.67 percent limit stipulated in the 2015 deal.

It also said Iran's total stockpile of uranium, which under the accord should be no more than the equivalent of 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of uranium hexafluoride, now stood at roughly 360 kilograms.

Iran has not specified what its third step might be in reducing its commitments to the deal.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday in an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that the step would be taken on September 6.

Rouhani's chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi said the third step would be taken "in the event Iran's demands are not met.”

"A committee decides the third step and we will decide... two or three days prior to the deadline," he said late Saturday, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

Vaezi said Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would head an Iranian economic delegation travelling to France on Monday to discuss proposals aimed at salvaging the nuclear deal.

Macron has urged the US to offer some sort of relief to Iran, such as lifting sanctions on oil sales to China and India, or a new credit line to enable exports in return for its compliance with the nuclear deal.

Photo: IRNA

Britain, France, Germany to Hold Iran Talks

By Damon Wake

Britain, France and Germany will hold talks Friday on how to preserve the beleaguered Iran nuclear deal and protect shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Tensions have spiked recently in the strategic shipping lane where Iran has seized Western tankers as Tehran and Washington have locked horns over the 2015 deal.

US President Donald Trump last year unilaterally pulled out of the accord that handed Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its atomic programme.

The move alarmed European powers, which see the deal as the best way to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, and infuriated the Islamic republic.

The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany -- the three European parties to the deal -- will be joined by EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini for talks on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Helsinki

All have repeatedly said they are committed to saving the deal, but efforts to shield Iran's economy from the reimposition of US sanctions have so far borne little fruit.

The G7 summit last weekend brought a glimmer of hope as Trump indicated willingness to talk to Iran and Mogherini said the EU would support such a move -- provided the current deal was preserved.

'Build on Momentum'

Ahead of the meeting, British foreign minister Dominic Raab said they would aim to "build on the momentum of the positive G7 talks on Iran.”

As well as mooting the summit with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Trump also appeared open to a French suggestion that Iran be given a line of credit to help stabilise its economy.

"The nuclear deal is the only deal on the table that prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and we will continue working together to encourage Iran to uphold the agreement in full," Raab said.

"We also need the broadest international support possible to tackle the threats to international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz."

Britain, along with Australia and Bahrain, has joined Washington's Operation Sentinel mission to protect commercial shipping on the crucial oil trade routes through the Gulf, in particular at the Strait of Hormuz.

Other European countries have been cool on the idea, fearing greater naval presence in the region could risk escalating an already febrile situation still further.

The idea has been floated of a European observation mission in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point at the mouth of the Gulf, but a number of EU countries have voiced reservations.

Mogherini on Thursday gave a cautious welcome to the idea of US-Iran talks but stressed that "first and foremost what is existing needs to be preserved" -- including the 2015 deal.

In response to the US pulling out of the deal and reimposing sanctions, Tehran has breached certain limits on its nuclear production imposed by the accord, but the EU insists Iran has so far not taken any irreversible steps.

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran Says Delegation to Visit France as Talks Progress

Iran is sending a delegation to France next week after progress was made in talks to defuse tensions since the US withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal, a senior official said Wednesday.

Tehran and Washington have been locked in a bitter standoff since last year when US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its atomic program.

At the height of the crisis in June, Iran shot down a US drone in the Gulf and Trump approved a retaliatory strike against the Islamic republic before canceling it at the last minute.

“A delegation is going to France next week and they will negotiate... issues," said Mahmoud Vaezi, the chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.

"These negotiations have made relatively good progress since last week," Vaezi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

The newly announced visit comes after Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif travelled to France on Sunday for the second time in a matter of days

Zarif held meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz after which Trump said he was open to meeting his Iranian counterpart.

Rouhani has since played down the prospect of meeting Trump, however, saying the Americans would have to take the first step and lift all sanctions against Iran.

In response to the US withdrawal and its imposition of crippling sanctions, Iran has hit back by abandoning commitments under the nuclear deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

French President Emmanuel Macron has been leading efforts to ease the situation, urging the United States to allow Iran to sell oil to China or India or give it access to a new line of credit

Vaezi refused to reveal details on any package in his remarks on Wednesday.

"Until the issue is finalised, no details will be announced," he said, according to IRNA.

"What we have been doing with France... is restoring Iran's rights under the JCPOA and lifting unjust sanctions," he added.

Photo; IRNA

Iran Tells US to Take 'First Step' by Ending Sanctions

By David Vujanovic

President Hassan Rouhani Tuesday told the United States to "take the first step" by lifting all sanctions against Iran, a day after US President Donald Trump said he was open to meeting.

Trump said on Monday he was ready to meet with his Iranian counterpart within weeks, in a potential breakthrough reached during a G7 summit in the French seaside resort of Biarritz.

Iran's economy has been battered by US sanctions imposed after Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States in May last year from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and world powers.

"The step is to retreat from sanctions. You must retreat from all illegal, unjust and wrong sanctions against the nation of Iran," Rouhani said in a speech aired live on state television.

"The key for positive change is in the hands of Washington," he said, because Iran had already ruled out ever doing what worries the US the most -- building an atomic bomb.

"If honestly this is your only concern, this concern has already been removed" through a fatwa issued by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the Iranian president.

"We don't (intend to) make an atomic bomb... our military doctrine is based on conventional arms."

Khamenei issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons in 2003 and has reiterated it several times since.

"So take the first step. Without this step, this lock will not be unlocked," Rouhani said at a Tehran event marking the start of work on a housing project.

No Photo Opportunities

In Biarritz, French President Emmanuel Macron said the "conditions for a meeting" between Trump and Rouhani "in the next few weeks" had been created through intensive diplomacy and consultations.

Trump, speaking at the final news conference of the G7 summit, said he "would certainly agree to that.

He added that the timeline proposed by Macron was realistic.

Trump was equally confident that Rouhani would be in favour.

"I think he's going to want to meet. I think Iran wants to get this situation straightened out," he added.

But Zarif said on Tuesday that he had made it known during the G7 summit that a meeting between Rouhani and Trump would be highly improbable even if the United States returned to the nuclear deal.

"On my trip to Biarritz I said that a meeting between Iran's president and Trump is not imaginable" until America rejoins the nuclear pact, said Zarif.

"Even at that time, we will not have a bilateral negotiation," added Zarif, who is now on a tour of Asia, in remarks aired on state television.

Rouhani has indicated he is open to holding talks with the Americans, but it is an approach that has faced criticism from ultra-conservatives in the Islamic republic.

In his speech on Tuesday, Rouhani said his government's policy of "constructive interaction" with the world was in line with the supreme leader's approach of "extensive interaction".

But he stressed the United States had to "retreat from their mistakes" and return to commitments made under the nuclear deal.

"Our path is clear if they come back to their commitments, we too will fully act on our commitments. If they do not come back to their commitments, we will continue our path," said Rouhani.

But the Iranian president said he was not just looking for photo opportunities.

"We seek to resolve issues and problems in a rational way but we are not after photos. For anyone wanting to take a picture with Hassan Rouhani, this is not possible," he said.

The possible meeting between Rouhani and Trump was blasted as a photo opportunity Tuesday on the front page of the Javan newspaper close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Trump has put in place a policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran through crippling sanctions that critics see as raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East between the US and Iran.

Both Rouhani and Trump are scheduled to be in New York for the UN General Assembly at the end of September which could provide a stage for talks.

Photo; IRNA

Trump Says Talks with Rouhani Within Weeks Sounds Realistic

US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in the next few weeks after talks over Tehran's nuclear program at a G7 summit in France.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made a surprise appearance on the sidelines of the summit in Biarritz on Sunday at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron said that the "conditions for a meeting" between Trump and Rouhani to take place "in the next few weeks" had been created through intensive diplomacy and consultations.

"If the circumstances were correct, I would certainly agree to that," Trump said at a joint press conference with Macron.

Asked by reporters if he thought the timeline proposed by his French counterpart sounded realistic, Trump replied: "It does", adding he thought Rouhani would also be in favor.

"I think he's going to want to meet. I think Iran wants to get this situation straightened out," Trump added.

Trump has put in place a policy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program via crippling sanctions that are seen as raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East.

The US president last year unilaterally pulled out of a landmark 2015 international deal that placed limits on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for trade, investment and sanctions relief.

Rouhani defended Zarif's Biarritz visit in a speech aired live on state television on Monday.

"I believe that for our country's national interests we must use any tool," he said.

But hardliners have criticized the initiative, with the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper saying the trip was "improper" and sent "a message of weakness and desperation."

Macron has urged the US administration to offer some sort of sanctions relief to Iran, such as lifting sanctions on oil sales to China and India, or a new credit line to enable exports.

In return, Iran would return to complying with the 2015 deal.

Commenting on the talks about Iran at the G7, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "It's a big step forward. Now there is an atmosphere in which talks are welcomed."

Photo: G7

Iran President Makes Case for Talks as G7 Gambit Slammed

By David Vujanovic

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani came out strongly in favor of talks Monday as his top diplomat came under fire from ultra-conservative media for a surprise visit to a G7 summit.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew in to the French seaside resort of Biarritz on Sunday for meetings on the sidelines of the G7 gathering.

"I believe that for our country's national interests we must use any tool," Rouhani said in a speech aired live on state television.

"And if I knew that I was going to have a meeting with someone that would (lead to) prosperity for my country and people's problems would be resolved, I would not hesitate.

"The main thing is our country's national interests," he said to a round of applause from those gathered at an event marking government achievements in rural areas.

Rouhani's remarks came as his government faced criticism over Zarif's visit to Biarritz at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron has been leading diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions between Iran and its arch-enemy the United States.

Iran's economy has been battered by US sanctions imposed since last year when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and world powers.

The ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper strongly criticised Zarif's visit on Monday in an article that called the trip "improper".

Kayhan said the fact that the minister's visit was the second to France in a matter of days sent "a message of weakness and desperation".

"These improper measures are taken in the fantasy of an opening but it will definitely have no outcome other than more insolence and pressure," it added.

'Weakness and Desperation'

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps also criticised engagement with Iran's foes.

Their "hostility and confrontation with the Islamic Revolution is endless and it cannot be resolved or reconciled through negotiation and dialogue," said Abdollah Haji-Sadeghi.

"We should not expect anything else but aggression, attacks, sedition and hostility" from the enemy, he was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency.

The reformist Etemad newspaper, however, described Zarif's trip to France as "the most hopeful moment" for Iran in the 15 months since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal.

"Given Macron's attempts over the last two months, one can be hopeful that Trump's response to Macron's ideas has been the main reason for Zarif's... trip to Biarritz," it said.

The spike in tensions between Iran and the United States has threatened to spiral out of control in the past few weeks, with ships mysteriously attacked, drones downed and tankers seized.

Rouhani said his government was ready to use "both hands" of power and diplomacy.

"They may seize our ship somewhere... we will both negotiate... and we may seize their ship for legal reasons," he said, referring to an Iranian oil tanker seized off Gibraltar that has since been released and a British-flagged vessel still impounded by Iran in the Gulf.

"We can work with two hands... the hand of power and the hand of diplomacy," said the Iranian president.

"We must use both our power, our military and security power, economic and cultural power and our political power. We must negotiate. We must find solutions. We must reduce problems.

"Even if the probability of success... is 10 percent, we must endeavor and go ahead. We must not lose opportunities."

Photo: IRNA

Trump Switches Tone on Iran, Raising Hopes at G7

By Sebastian Smith, Adam Plowright and Stuart Williams

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he had agreed to the Iranian foreign minister flying in for a G7 summit and insisted he was not seeking regime change in Tehran—a change of tone that could lower tensions.

Mohammad Javad Zarif made a surprise appearance at the summit in Biarritz on Sunday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is seeking to broker a deal between Iran and the United States.

Zarif also met with French and other European diplomats, but Trump said it was "too soon" for him to meet Zarif.

"I knew everything he (Macron) was doing and I approved everything he was doing," Trump said, adding that the French president "asked for my approval.”

In early August, Trump lambasted Macron for sending "mixed signals" on Iran, and at the end of July the US administration imposed sanctions on Zarif.

Trump has put in place a policy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme via crippling sanctions that are seen as raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East.

The US president unilaterally pulled out of a landmark 2015 international deal that placed limits on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for trade, investment and sanctions relief.

"I believe that for our country's national interests we must use any tool," Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said of his top diplomat's Biarritz visit in a speech aired live on state television on Monday.

But hardliners criticised the initiative, with the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper saying the trip was "improper" and sent "a message of weakness and desperation."

Some analysts also cautioned against optimism about Macron's mediation efforts.

"There is considerable room between what President Trump says and what he thinks one day, and what he says and thinks the next," Robert Malley, head of the International Crisis Group, told AFP.

Photo: Elysée

Iran Foreign Minister Makes Surprise Visit to G7 Summit

By Helene Fouquet and Josh Wingrove

Emmanuel Macron has thrown his G-7 guests a mid-summit curveball—inviting Iran’s foreign minister for a surprise visit in a move that risks infuriating Donald Trump’s administration.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew to Biarritz, the French seaside resort town that’s the site of the summit, on Sunday as leaders met nearby. The French government insisted he wasn’t in the town to join the G-7, but instead to meet nearby with the French foreign minister as part of a bid by Macron to deescalate the crisis.

Still, the arrival came as a stunning development, and several delegations appear to have been caught off-guard—the Americans and Canadians declined to say if they had advance notice, while the Italians found out from French news wire AFP. Iran already has dominated the discussions at the G-7, with Macron and Trump sparring over Macron’s outreach to the Islamic Republic.

Zarif was in Paris only last week, meeting with Macron about the future of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Zarif described the talks as “constructive and good”, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.

Zarif is a lightning rod for the Trump administration, which sanctioned him personally just recently and heavily restricted his movements during a recent visit to New York. Macron had wanted to shake up the summit, and he has already angered the American side, which accused him of trying to manipulate the agenda to embarrass Trump.

The French president is trying to show that he’s achieved something on the geopolitical issues he’s raised, and he has led the European effort to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, after Trump pulled out in 2018. Macron told TF1 television Sunday that leaders agreed they need to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons and destabilizing the region -- though that was the state of play before talks began.

Macron also touted an agreement to send a joint message from the G-7 to Iran as one of his victories from a dinner among the leaders. "We’ve enacted a common communication, which in my view has a lot of value,” he said this morning in a French television interview.

But Trump immediately pushed back on the idea that Macron was speaking for the whole G-7, and therefore Trump as well. “We’ll do our own outreach,” he said. “But I can’t stop people from talking.”

One person familiar with the situation says Trump does not agree that Macron can convey a message from the G-7 to Iran since the leaders didn’t all settle on what the message should be.

Trump has pursued a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, using sanctions to cut off their sales of oil in a way that’s hurting that nation’s economy. White House officials say the G-7 countries agreed Trump’s pressure campaign on Iran is having an impact, and that it should continue.

Photo: IRNA

Trump Unlikely to Support Macron’s Plan to Revive Iran Deal

By Helene Fouquet and Nick Wadhams

French President Emmanuel Macron pitched U.S. President Donald Trump on a plan to end the standoff over the Iran nuclear deal—by allowing Iran to sell oil for a limited period of time in exchange for returning to talks and to compliance with the agreement.

The proposal was described by a French official after Macron and Trump sat down to an impromptu lunch that stretched for two hours at the Group of Seven Summit in Biarritz, France. A senior U.S. official termed the plan a non-starter.

The U.S. in the past has resisted any compromise that allowed Iran to resume selling oil, which is sharply restricted by U.S. sanctions. That’s why ending the impasse and putting the deal back together is so difficult: Iran’s No. 1 demand to come back to the bargaining table is that it be allowed to sell oil to help its struggling economy.

The French official described a plan that would occur in two phases. Iran would be allowed to sell some volume of its oil in exchange for a series of commitments: return to compliance with the existing agreement, find ways to lower tensions in the Persian Gulf amid a spate of tanker seizures, and return to structured talks on missiles, regional issues and what happens after 2025, when the current agreement is set to expire.

The hope, this official said, is that this could create a de-escalation that allows the two sides to begin talking again, particularly knowing that both Trump and the Iranians have said they don’t want war. Macron met with an Iranian delegation on Friday, including Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, to discuss this proposal.

Trump pulled out of the deal in May 2018, saying it didn’t do enough to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Iran remained in compliance with the deal for a time, but recently said it was enriching uranium at higher levels than allowed in the deal—meaning it’s no longer in line with the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Macron has led a European effort to find a compromise that would get Trump back to the table with the Iranians. One struggle has been finding incentives for Iran to renegotiate a deal that took effect so recently, this time surely at worse terms for Iran.

Salvaging the Iran nuclear accord is one of the key topics of the summit at this beach resort town, which sees Trump in his customary role as the outlier to the European nations that still think the deal can be saved. Another potential stumbling block to compromise in Biarritz: Trump brought with him national security adviser John Bolton, the leading Iran hawk in his administration.

Photo: Wikicommons

Europe Has Dug In Against Trump’s Iran ‘Maximum Pressure’ Campaign

By Nick Wadhams

President Donald Trump wants America’s closest allies to ratchet up the pressure on Iran. But this weekend in France he’ll find they’re still reluctant to join him.

Divisions over Iran will be on full display when Trump meets his European peers at a Group of Seven meeting starting Saturday in the coastal city of Biarritz. While the agenda will focus on the global economy, the most pressing security challenge will be navigating the wreckage of Trump’s decision last year to abandon the 2015 deal constraining Tehran’s nuclear program.

Even with Iran downing an American drone and being accused of a spate of tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf, European nations want to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action they say kept a rein on Iran’s nuclear program. But they’ve failed to find a way to help Tehran get the economic benefits promised under the deal. Iran is desperate to get its oil back on world markets, but that’s a non-starter for the U.S.

No compromise has emerged.

The Iran debate—and the distrust it has fueled—reflects the strains between the U.S. and Europe in the Trump era: displeasure over his maximalist approach, umbrage over his scorn for allies and, beneath it all, wariness about his intentions. In the case of Iran, allies can’t shake the suspicion that Trump, or his more hawkish advisers, want to provoke a war, no matter his insistence otherwise.

“I’ve heard several folks in Europe say, ‘Look, all of us were serving as diplomats during the Iraq War, so we’ve seen the beginnings of this movie before and we’re not going to get dragged into it again,”’ said Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “The Europeans will not want to side with the administration on issues that could lead to military conflict.”

The president hasn’t laid the groundwork for a productive summit. He’s arriving in France on the warpath over trade, allied contributions to NATO and a self-inflicted feud with Denmark over what appeared at first to be a joke: a suggestion the U.S. buy Greenland.

Trump’s best shot at winning some European support will come by working his personal rapport with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The two unconventional leaders will meet for breakfast on Sunday, and Johnson may want to straddle European backing for the JCPOA with the need to keep Trump on his side for an eventual trade deal following Brexit.

A U.S. official, who asked not to be identified discussing internal deliberations, said the administration is “optimistic” that Johnson could bring the U.K. closer to the U.S. position on isolating Iran.

A U.K. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pushed back on expectations that Johnson could be swayed. The new prime minister doesn’t want to rock the boat for French President Emmanuel Macron, who is the host of the G-7, the official said. The U.K. is sticking to its support for the nuclear deal.

But that too has its dangers. One person familiar with the White House thinking on the matter, who also asked not to be identified, said the administration realizes it needs to be careful calibrating its attitude toward Johnson, who may be wary of being seen as too close to Trump ahead of a possible election later this year.

“The president wants to give Boris Johnson a big boost -- he sees Johnson as Britain’s Trump, a like-minded model,” said Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “The challenge is Boris Johnson is winding up for an election and he’s got to walk a very fine line on what the domestic instinct is toward Trump.”

U.S. officials are playing down the disagreements between Washington and European capitals, arguing that all sides agree on the threat posed by Iran’s sponsorship of terrorist groups, its development of ballistic missiles and its attacks on tanker traffic around the Strait of Hormuz.

‘Tactical Disagreements’

“We have had tactical disagreements but there isn’t any disagreement on end states,” Brian Hook, the State Department’s Iran envoy, told Bloomberg TV on Aug. 21. “We share the same threat assessment. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principle driver of instability in today’s Middle East.”

Anxiety is growing in Europe about a growing list of Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear accord, which the Islamic Republic had obeyed until Trump quit the deal. Angry that the Europeans haven’t been able to deliver economic benefits in defiance of Trump’s sanctions, Iran now has exceeded enriched-uranium limits set by the agreement and is threatening further violations if Europe doesn’t find a way around the American restrictions.

Zarif’s Diplomacy

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif—who was recently sanctioned by the U.S.—will be in France ahead of the summit on Friday to urge the Europeans to stick to the nuclear deal.

According to press reports and a person familiar with Emmanuel Macron’s thinking, the French president is also circulating a proposal under which the U.S. would ease some restrictions on Iranian oil exports in exchange for the start of a diplomatic dialogue.

U.S. officials say Iran would need to make far bigger concessions for them to entertain such an offer. The idea flies in the face of the administration’s approach, which is to keep ramping up its “maximum pressure” campaign, under the belief that sanctions will so ruin Iran’s economy that its leaders will have no choice but to negotiate.

Two recent cases show just how different the U.S. and European approaches to Iran have become, and how wary U.S. allies are in being associated with the Trump administration’s stance.

Gibraltar Court

The U.K. rebuffed a demand from the White House to keep holding an Iranian oil tanker laden with $130 million in crude allegedly bound for Syria in Gibraltar. A court in the territory deemed it could no longer keep the ship after Iran offered assurances it wouldn’t go to Syria.

Senior U.S. officials had conveyed “grave disappointment” over the decision to let the tanker go, even raising the possibility that an eventual U.S.-U.K. trade deal might be in jeopardy. The Justice Department filed a complaint aimed at blocking the ruling. But the Grace 1—renamed the Adrian Darya 1—left as planned.

Even more embarrassing to the U.S. has been Europe’s shunning of the plan the Americans call Project Sentinel—a bid to protect ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In July, the U.K. signed up but was careful to portray its participation as a European-led initiative that was getting help from—and not being led by—the U.S. France and Germany flatly refused to join, leaving the U.S. with two partners: Australia and the U.A.E.

“It’s absolutely necessary to keep the Gulf open, but the fact that they won’t do it tells you something about how toxic President Trump is in European politics,” said Nicholas Burns, a former senior State Department official and professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. “The Europeans don’t trust that Trump will keep his word that he won’t attack Iran.”

Photo: White House

Macron Meets Iran FM to Push for G7 Detente

By Valérie Leroux

French President Emmanuel Macron was to hold talks Friday with Iran's foreign minister ahead of a G7 meeting where he will attempt to soothe tensions between Tehran and Washington at what risks being a stormy summit.

"We're at a critical moment," Macron warned on Wednesday, acknowledging that Iran is "laying out a strategy for exiting the JCPOA," the name of the 2015 accord reining in the country's nuclear ambitions.

He admitted this week there were "true disagreements" over Iran within the G7 club of rich nations, which are meeting in France this weekend.

But Macron said he would "try to propose things" in the talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday.

Tensions have soared in recent months over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, with both Tehran and Washington claiming to have shot down rival drones in the Mideast.

Iran has also locked horns with Britain, with Iran's Revolutionary Guards seizing a British tanker in July after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar.

France has stepped up its outreach to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, with Macron twice dispatching his diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne to Tehran in recent months.

"President Rouhani instructed me to go and meet with President Macron (to see) whether we can finalise some of these proposals in order to be able to have everybody comply with their obligations under the JCPOA," Zarif said in Norway on Thursday.

"It's an opportunity to review the proposal by President Macron and to present the views of President Rouhani and see if we can find more common ground. We already have some common ground."

But the nuclear deal has all but collapsed after US President Donald Trump pulled the US out unilaterally in May 2018 and re-imposed sanctions that have wreaked havoc on the Iranian economy.

The European signatories vowed to find a workaround and have implored Tehran to respect the deal nonetheless.

But in July, it announced its nuclear programme would no longer be bound by some of the deal's key restrictions.

"They can be reversed as soon as Europe comes into compliance with its own obligations under the JCPOA," Zarif said Thursday.

Maximum Pressure

Macron's diplomacy is a delicate task, with France seeking a rollback on some of the US measures imposed on Iran as part of Trump's "maximum pressure" policy towards the Islamic republic.

French diplomats have raised the idea of US waivers on sanctions affecting Iranian oil exports to India and China, or a new credit line for Tehran that could help the struggling economy.

US President Donald Trump has accused Macron of sending Tehran "mixed signals", a charge rejected by the French government, which says its role is "to make every effort to ensure that all parties agree to a break and open negotiations."

On a host of issues, G7 members France, the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan find themselves at loggerheads, upending what used to be a cosy club of rich nations.

Trump left the last summit in Quebec in June 2018 accusing his host, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, of being "very dishonest and weak".

The US leader is set to arrive for the French summit in the town of Biarritz on Saturday already riled by a new French law that will increase taxes on US internet giants such as Google and Facebook.

Trump is also threatening tariffs on the European automobile sector, while the climate change sceptic is not expected to contribute to Macron's official agenda of fighting global warming.

The fierce fires devouring thousands of acres in the Brazil's Amazon rainforest could spark further disputes, with both Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the crisis demands a collective G7 response.

That garnered a furious response from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro—often called "South America's Trump"—who denounced any such G7 talks on the fires a display as "colonialist mentality."

Faced with the multiple G7 divisions, French officials have scrapped the idea of a final joint statement -- seen as an admission of the summit's lowered ambitions.

Photo: Wikicommons

Macron to Host Iran Top Diplomat for Nuclear Talks Friday

President Emmanuel Macron will on Friday hold talks on Iran's contested nuclear program with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the French presidency said, in a rare encounter between a Western head of state and a senior Iranian official.

Macron will meet Zarif just one day before France chairs a three-day summit of leaders of Group of Seven (G7) countries, including President Donald Trump, in the southern resort of Biarritz.

Zarif, who has been on a tour of Scandinavia, had earlier this week said he planned to hold talks in Paris.

The discussions between Zarif and Macron will come at a critical time for relations between Tehran and the West as Iran ramps up its nuclear programme in response to Trump's decision to pull out of the 2015 deal over its atomic drive.

France and other EU powers have insisted they want to keep the nuclear deal alive, although many analysts warn the US pullout dealt it a near-fatal blow.

Macron has insisted that diplomacy is the only way to solve the standoff and twice in the last months despatched his diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne to Tehran.

A presidential official, who asked not to be named, said the talks would continue this channel.

Macron admitted in comments Wednesday there were "true disagreements" within the G7 over Iran but said he would "try to propose things" in the talks.

The French foreign ministry said earlier this month that it "needs no permission" to talk to Iran after Trump accused Macron of sending "mixed signals" to the Islamic Republic.

Zarif said in Norway Thursday that Macron had made proposals to President Hassan Rouhani who had despatched him to Paris "to see if we can finalise some of these ideas so each party can fulfil its obligations" under the nuclear deal.

"It will be a chance to see if we can find ground for understanding. We already have points of agreement," Zarif said.

The Iranian foreign minister, a suave fluent English speaker, was earlier this month slapped with sanctions by the United States. But the EU insisted it would continue to work with him.

Zarif's talks in Paris may also see the case raised of French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah who was detained in Iran earlier this year and is one of many Western-Iranian dual nationals to be held behind bars there.

Photo: IRNA

France Says 'Needs No Permission' for Iran Dialogue After Trump Swipe

France said Friday that it "needs no permission" to work towards easing tensions between Iran and the US, after President Donald Trump accused his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of meddling in the dispute.

"On Iran, France speaks with complete sovereignty. It is working hard for peace and security in the region, it is working to facilitate a de-escalation in tensions and it needs no permission to do so," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement.

In a tweet Thursday, Trump claimed that Iranian officials want "desperately to talk to the US, but are given mixed signals from all of those purporting to represent us, including President Macron of France."

"I know Emmanuel means well, as do all others, but nobody speaks for the United States but the United States itself. No one is authorized in any way, shape, or form, to represent us!" he said.

Trump has reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran after pulling out of an international deal aimed at curbing the country's nuclear ambitions.

But the European partners to the accord, including France, have resisted his attempts to isolate the Iranians.

Le Drian said the worsening tensions between Tehran and Washington, which have been blamed for attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf and downings of drones, called for initiatives to try to restore dialogue.

"That's what President Macron is doing, in full transparency with our partners, above all our European partners," he said, adding that Macron was "obviously keeping American authorities informed".

On Tuesday, the Al-Monitor news site reported that Macron, who speaks regularly by telephone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, had invited Rouhani to attend the G7 summit in France on August 24-26 to meet with Trump.

The report, which cited two unidentified sources, said Rouhani had declined to attend or send a representative.

The French presidency has denied the report, saying Macron never put forward any such proposal.

After a call with Rouhani on Tuesday, the French leader, who has attempted to mediate in several disputes in North Africa and the Middle East, said it was France's role "to make every effort to ensure that all parties agree to a break and open negotiations."

The dispute with Iran is expected to be a major issue at the G7 summit in the southwestern city of Biarritz.

Paris has engaged in intense diplomacy to try to resolve the tensions, with Macron's foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne twice visiting Tehran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Macron at his holiday retreat on France's Mediterranean coast on August 19 to discuss the Iranian situation, ahead of the G7 meeting.

Photo: French MFA