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2.3 Macron calls on Iran’s Raisi for “constructive manner” in resumed nuclear deal talks
French President Emmanuel Macron on November 30 called on Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi to adopt a "constructive manner" in Iran’s approach to the resumed Vienna talks on finding a pathway to reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, or JCPOA, between Iran and world powers.
The two presidents held telephone talks on November 29. Macron told Raisi that Paris’s objectives are "to see Iran return to full respect for all of its commitments” under the accord and “the United States return to the agreement," according to the French presidency. For its part, Raisi's office quoted the Iranian president as saying that "sending a full team to the talks shows Iran's serious will” in the negotiations.
The JCPOA places strict limits on Iran's nuclear development programme in return for sanctions relief. The aim is to ensure the programme remains purely peaceful in nature. But the JCPOA has essentially not functioned since the US unilaterally walked out of it in 2018 and reinstated crippling US sanctions on Tehran despite Iran's compliance. In response, Tehran has gradually stepped up breaches of the deal.
After the first session of discussions in Vienna on November 29, EU envoy Enrique Mora, who is chairing the talks, told reporters there was "a sense of urgency in bringing the JCPOA back to life" and added that he felt "extremely positive."
Macron also called on Raisi to “quickly resume cooperation that allows the [UN atomic] agency to fully carry out its [watchdog] mission", his office said.
Raisi's office quoted him as urging the French president "to strive with other parties in Vienna to conclude the negotiations and lift the [US] sanctions against Iran."
As the talks restarted, US chief negotiator Robert Malley said: "If Iran chooses—and it really is at this point, I think, an Iranian choice—if they choose not to go back into the deal, then obviously, we're going to have to see other efforts, diplomatic and otherwise, to try to address Iran's nuclear ambitions."
Apart from Iran, the five remaining JCPOA signatories are Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia.
8 IRAN Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com