French President Emmanuel Macron said today that he had a "very frank" discussion with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Iran, stressing that he wanted to work to reach a new agreement with Tehran.
Macron said he wanted the United States and France to commit to finding a new, long-term agreement on Iran's nuclear program. As he said, he believes that the discussions he had with Trump make it possible to forge a new agreement.
"We did not start from the same position on this issue" and "we had an in-depth discussion on this issue", he said, in the joint press conference given by the two leaders after their talks in the White House. He said he did not know what President Trump would ultimately decide on the deal on Iran's nuclear program, which he described as "horrific" and threatened that the United States would pull out of it. He said he understood his counterpart's concerns and criticism, but stressed that "we should not tear up the deal but add to it." He even seemed to agree with Trump on some points, stating that Iran's nuclear program is not the only issue of concern to the international community, but that ballistic missiles are also a problem.
Macron said the following issues should be addressed: stop any nuclear activity by Iran by 2025, put an end to Iran's ballistic missile development program and find a political solution to limit Iran's action in the region. . "This is the only way to have stability," he said.
Earlier, the French president had said he had discussed the Paris climate deal with the Republican leader, while referring to trade issues as a "problem" with excess steel and aluminum production. However, he noted that his country's trade relationship with the United States is "balanced" and appeared optimistic about the future of this relationship.
On the issue of Syria, Macron said he would consider in the coming weeks and months what needs to be done to end the crisis. He said the main goal was to end operations against Islamic State and other extremist organizations operating in the region and that the diplomatic goal was to ensure that Syrians could live peacefully in their country. He added, however, that it was impossible to give an exact timetable for when France's involvement in Syria would end.