French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called Iran on Wednesday 1er September, to resume negotiations on its nuclear program without delay. A month after the inauguration of ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raïssi, Tehran’s strategy for the future of the 2015 agreement is eagerly awaited by the international community.
“The Minister underlined the importance and the urgency of an immediate resumption of the negotiations, interrupted by Iran since the month of June, in order to allow a return to the full implementation of the agreement [de Vienne sur le nucléaire] “, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) a spokesperson for the Quai d’Orsay after a telephone interview between Mr. Le Drian and his new Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian. The French minister also expressed his concern “Vis-à-vis all nuclear activities conducted by Iran in violation of this agreement”, added the spokesperson.
Discussions to save the deal in the spring
The agreement concluded in 2015 offered Iran a reduction in Western and UN sanctions in exchange for its commitment never to acquire atomic weapons and a drastic reduction in its nuclear program, placed under strict control of the United Nations. United Nations. Tehran thus undertook not to produce enriched uranium.
Iran, however, claimed earlier this year that it had undertaken the search for uranium metal to provide fuel for a nuclear research reactor; a sensitive subject, because this material can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. The announcement was part of a series of measures taken in violation of the 2015 agreement following President Donald Trump’s decision in 2018 to withdraw the United States from the agreement.
Six rounds of negotiations between Iran and international powers, including France, took place in Vienna between April and June, in an attempt to save the deal. These talks aim to bring the United States back into the agreement and bring Iran back to full compliance with its international commitments regarding its nuclear program.
For Iran, “a process of two or three months is necessary”
On Tuesday, Mr. Amir Abdollahian suggested that these discussions, interrupted since June 20, that is to say two days after Mr. Raïssi’s victory in the presidential election, might not resume for two or three months. “The other party knows full well that a two or three month process is necessary for the new government to be put in place and take any decisions”, he said.
The new Iranian foreign minister has claimed to have been invited to Paris by Emmanuel Macron, who he says is seeking “To get closer” from Iran. Neither the Elysee Palace nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed this invitation. Mr. Le Drian has “Hoped that the dialogue between France and Iran could contribute to the resumption and the conclusion of these negotiations”, simply noted the ministry, without further details.
“Mr. Macron (…) came to see me twice “, said Mr. Amir Abdollahian, who participated Saturday, alongside the French president, in a regional summit in Baghdad devoted to the fight against terrorism. “He called his foreign minister and said “I invited [M. Amir Abdollahian] (…), we must review bilateral relations” “, he assured, quoted by the site of the Iranian state television channel.