France Needs ’No Permission’ For Dialogue with Iran - Le Drian

By Staff, Agencies

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Paris "needs no permission" to engage in dialogue with Iran, responding to an earlier tweet made by US President Donald Trump scolding French President Emmanuel Macron over the matter.

"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," Le Drian said in a statement on Friday.

Trump had earlier blamed Macron for sending “mixed signals” to Tehran.

In May 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], which was a deal between Iran and six world powers. Washington introduced old and new sanctions on Iran and sought to further scupper implementation of the deal by pressuring remaining signatories, specifically the deal’s European signatories.

While expressing opposition to the US withdrawal, European signatories have also so far failed to ensure that Iran receives the economic benefits promised under the deal but hampered by US sanctions.

Trump’s comments chastising Macron came two days after the latter spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Sheikh Hassan Rouhani.

During the phone call, Macron stressed that France was committed to upholding the JCPOA and finding a solution that could both benefit Iran and be accepted by all sides of the deal.

Macron also welcomed a proposal from Rouhani calling for the formation of a joint panel of experts seeking solutions to regional and international disputes.

Macron recently stepped up diplomatic contact with Tehran in a bid to allegedly cease the US economic war against Iran and deescalate tensions in the region.

"That's what President Macron is doing, in full transparency with our partners, above all our European partners," Le Drian said of the initiative on Friday, adding that Macron was "obviously keeping American authorities informed".

The French diplomatic push comes as the US has taken a quasi-warlike posture against Iran in recent months, stepping up provocative military deployments in the Middle East and calling for the formation of a "multinational maritime" naval deployment in the region.