France's Macron calls on Iran again to return to nuclear talks

French President Emmanuel Macron attends the opening ceremony of the Generation Equality Forum at the Louvre Carrousel in Paris, France, June 30, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Iran to resume talks on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal struck with world powers, the Elysee presidential palace said Monday in a statement issued shortly after a phone call between Macron and his Iranian counterpart.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Iran to resume talks on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal struck with world powers, the Elysee presidential palace said Monday in a statement issued shortly after a phone call between Macron and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi.

Raisi informed Macron that negotiations with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal must guarantee Tehran’s “rights.”

“In any negotiation, the rights of the Iranian people must be upheld and the interests of our nation ensured,” Raisi said in an hour-long phone call, according to the Iranian presidency’s website.

This is Raisi’s first reported call with a Western leader since taking office last week.

Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by GV De Clercq