Iran Has Already Told Macron Missiles Not Up For Negotiations

By Staff, Press TV

Iran rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to include the Islamic Republic’s missile program into new negotiations, an informed source told Press TV.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity on Monday, added that Iran has already responded to Macron’s proposal, stressing that the country’s missile program is not up for discussions.

According to the source, Iran has also rejected France’s proposals for talks on regional issues and Iran’s regional presence.

Reacting to Macron’s idea of establishing a $15 billion credit line for Iran in a trade mechanism to help Tehran conduct business, the source told Press TV that Iran had responded by saying that it would consider reversing its decision to scale back some of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal if the line is established.

Regarding an offer of talks between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his American counterpart Donald Trump, the source said that Iran has already announced that any negotiation with the US hinges on Washington’s return to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], and lifting of sanctions against Tehran.

Iran will not take part in any negotiations as long as the sanctions are in place, as the Islamic Republic’s national interests will not be guaranteed unless the bans are removed, the source said, reaffirming Rouhani’s earlier remarks on national interests.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

However, Trump pulled his country out of the international nuclear deal in May last year and stepped up sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Rouhani said in an address to a ceremony earlier on Monday that he would be ready to talk to anybody, it if helped solve the country’s economic problems.

“If I know that by taking part in a meeting with a specific person my country’s problem would be solved, I would not shy away from it, because the main issue [for me] is the country’s national interests,” Rouhani said.

Responding to certain Western media reports about possible Rouhani-Trump talks, the source said that Iran has never opposed talks and has held the longest-ever negotiations with the P5+1 group of countries, including the US, on its nuclear program.

It was the US that quit the JCPOA so any resumption of talks depends on the US’s return to the negotiating table and the 2015 nuclear accord, the source said. 

Iran has never shied away from talks as proved before, but if the other party leaves the negotiating table and nixes the agreement as it has already done, negotiations would be meaningless, the source concluded.