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After Trump rebuke, France says it speaks for itself on Iran

After Trump rebuke France says it speaks for itself on Iran
After Trump rebuke, France says it speaks for itself on Iran

2019-08-09 00:00:00 - Source: Baghdad Post

France

does not need the permission of other states to try to defuse tensions with

Iran, its foreign minister said on Friday after US President Donald Trump

accused President Emmanuel Macron of sending “mixed signals” to Tehran.

“France

speaks for itself on Iran as a sovereign power,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le

Drian said in a written statement.

“France

is deeply committed to peace and security in the region, is committed to

de-escalating tensions and does not need any authorization to do so.”

Trump

on Thursday had said no one was permitted to speak to Iran on behalf of the

United States, after a report this week said Macron had invited Iran’s

President Hassan Rouhani to this month’s G7 summit to meet the US president.

A

French diplomat denied the invitation had been made.

Washington’s

major European allies – Britain, France and Germany – have been at odds with the

Trump administration over Iran since last year, when Trump pulled the United

States out of an international deal to give Iran access to world trade in

return for curbs to its nuclear program.

While

the Europeans say they share US concerns about Iran’s regional behavior and

missile program, they believe pulling out of the nuclear agreement was a

mistake.

In

recent months the United States has sharply tightened sanctions on Iran with

the aim of halting its oil exports. The Europeans have warned that heightened

confrontation could lead to an accidental war in the Gulf.

Le

Drian did not make a direct reference to Trump’s remarks. The diplomatic

sparring is the latest in a series of terse exchanges between Washington and

Paris ahead of the G7 meeting later this month.

In

late July, Trump blasted the “foolishness” of Macron for pressing ahead with a

tax on big tech companies, and threatened to tax French wines in retaliation.

One French minister called Trump’s comments “completely moronic”.

Iran

will be a hot-button topic at the G7 summit in Biarritz. The European countries

still hope to salvage the nuclear deal, although Iran has begun to scale down

its cooperation with it in response to US sanctions.

Britain

was drawn deeper into the confrontation last month when it seized an Iranian

tanker accused of violating sanctions on Syria. Iran responded by seizing a

British tanker. London has since said it will join a US-led mission to boost

security in the Gulf; France and Germany have so far held back.

“The

aggravation of tensions requires political initiatives that create the

conditions for dialogue. That’s what President Macron is doing, in all

transparency,” Le Drian said. “He is of course keeping the US authorities

informed.”





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