Iranian, French Diplomats Discuss Regional, Bilateral Issues
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for American and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi and France’s Secretary-General of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs Maurice Gourdault-Montagne held talks on ways to boost bilateral ties between the two countries.
In the meeting held in Paris on Tuesday evening, Gourdault-Montagne hailed Iran as a major regional player and called for continued talks between Tehran and Paris about ways to resolve problems facing the Middle East.
Takht Ravanchi, for his part, stressed the need for France and the European countries to take a more serious stance about the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and slammed Washington’s dishonesty regarding the deal.
During the meeting, the two diplomats also pointed to the French foreign minister’s upcoming visit to Iran and described it as an opportunity to boost cooperation between the two countries on bilateral and regional issues.
Concerns have been growing in recent weeks that the US administration may unilaterally scrap the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany).
In a major confrontational stance against Iran on October 13, US President Donald Trump refused to certify the multilateral deal on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.
Speaking from the White House, Trump said he will choose not to certify that Tehran is complying with the agreement.
The 159-page nuclear agreement was reached in July 2015 and came into force in January 2016.
Since the historic deal was signed in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed the Islamic Republic’s compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.
