French diplomat:

Macron’s visit to Iran still on France agenda

TEHRAN (defapress) – The French Minister for European Affairs said the visit of French President Emanuel Macron to Iran is still on agenda, and will take place after FM Le Drian’s trip to the Islamic Republic.

News ID: 68012

Date: 10 January 2018 - 12:25

Nathalie Loiseau in an interview with a French radio broadcast said the visit of French President Emanuel Macron to Iran is still on agenda, adding that the country’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will first make a visit to Tehran in order to prepare the conditions for Macron’s trip.

Le Drian’s visit, which was scheduled for January 5, was postponed to a future date two days before the visit would take place. The trip, in addition to preparing the grounds for the upcoming visit of President Macron, is said to include meetings with senior Iranian officials on various bilateral and regional issues, notable among which is the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, dubbed JCPOA.

Asked about the exact date of Macron’s visit, Loiseau said that it would take place after Le Drian’s, adding that France is interested in holding talks with everyone, even if the two sides have different opinions on certain issues.

Since 1976, Macron will be the first French president to visit Iran. France was one of the 5+1 group of countries that sat down at the negotiating table with Iran to sign the landmark nuclear deal. The country has always stressed EU’s commitment to the implementation of the agreement.