French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump, called together on Tuesday for a new Iran nuclear deal, after the US leader condemned the three-year-old agreement as “insane.”
Macron, during a press conference, said, “I can say that we have had very frank discussions on that, just the two of us. We, therefore, wish from now on to work on a new deal with Iran.”
The French President went on to say a new arrangement would have to take account of three extra elements: Tehran’s ballistic missile agenda, its effect throughout the Middle East, and what transpires after 2025 — when under the current agreement Iran would be able to gradually restart part of its nuclear program.
Trump’s European supporters have continually tried to convince him not to walk away from the 2015 deal, which gave Iran massive sanctions relief and the assurance of a civilian nuclear programme in exchange for limits on programs that could be used to develop an atomic weapon.
Trump said “I think we will have a great shot at doing a much bigger deal,” emphasising that any new deal would have to be made on “solid foundations.”
Iran, in the interim, has advised it will increase enrichment activities if Trump walks away from the accord.
Photo Credit: NAN
