The French government will not trigger the Iran nuclear deal's dispute resolution mechanism for now, instead giving itself one week to try to get all parties talking again after Iran decided to enrich uranium above limits agreed in 2015.
ADVERTISEMENTThe French government will not trigger the Iran nuclear deal's dispute resolution mechanism for now, instead giving itself one week to try to get all parties talking again after Iran decided to enrich uranium above limits agreed in 2015.
Iran said on Sunday it was prepared to enrich uranium at any level and with any amount, in further defiance of US efforts to squeeze the country with sanctions and force it to renegotiate the nuclear deal.
"It's not an option at this moment," a source at President Emmanuel Macron's Elysee office said on Sunday. The dispute resolution mechanism could eventually lead to the reimposition of United Nations sanctions on Iran.
The French president on Sunday condemned the Iranian announcement, saying the decision was a "violation" of the agreement reached between Iran and world powers in 2015 to curb uranium enrichment.
Macron told his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, that he would try to have all parties resume dialogue by July 15, a statement released late Saturday showed.
The statement did not mention what would happen if dialogue failed to resume by then.
The French presidency did not say whether its approach had been coordinated with other European governments.
France, Iran agree to seek conditions to resume nuclear talks
On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to President Hassan Rouhani and that they had agreed to seek conditions for a resumption of dialogue on the nuclear question by July 15.
"The President of the Republic has agreed with his Iranian counterpart to explore by July 15 conditions to resume dialogue between the parties," Macron's office said in a statement.
The statement added Macron will keep on talking with Iranian authorities and other involved parties to "engage in a de-escalation of tensions related to Iranian nuclear issue."
Iran has warned it would walk away from the landmark deal unless European allies find a way to keep it alive after US President Donald Trump announced the US's withdrawal from it last year and reimposed sanctions on the country.
READ MORE: World leaders react with worry to Iran's breach of nuclear deal