Macron to Ask Trump to Remove Some Iran Sanctions to Spur Talks
Macron to Ask Trump to Remove Some Iran Sanctions to Spur Talks
(Bloomberg) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said he’ll seek to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to reconsider some elements of his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran in order to give talks a chance.
“I’d like to convince Trump to open a window and give negotiations a chance, maybe to go back on some decisions, maybe on sanctions” and then to work out a way to negotiate the nuclear issue, Macron told reporters in Japan, where he’s attending a Group of 20 summit.
Trump’s decision last year to pull out of the 2015 international nuclear accord and re-impose sanctions sent relations with Iran into a spiral. Iran’s downing of U.S. drone and unexplained attacks on shipping intensified the crisis, sparking fears of another conflict in the Middle East.
After the U.S. this week sanctioned Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military officials, Tehran insisted that the path to a negotiated settlement had closed.
To contact the reporters on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net;Ladane Nasseri in Dubai at lnasseri@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Stuart Biggs
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