Iran to Send Economic Delegation to France

Asked about his assessment of the recent negotiations between Iran and France, Iranian President’s Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi told reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet session on Wednesday that the progress made in the talks since last week has been satisfactory.

“A delegation will travel to France next week for talks on the aspects and details of the issues. Once the delegation returns to Iran, one could comment better on carrying out the third step,” Vaezi added, referring to Tehran’s decision to implement the third phase of scaling back its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He also noted that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will not accompany the economic delegation in the upcoming trip to France.

Vaezi emphasized that the negotiations with France are meant to serve Iran’s interests under the JCPOA and to remove the cruel US sanctions, but declined to comments on the details of the French initiative for de-escalation of tensions between Tehran and Washington.

“We and France have own views. We are consulting inside the country, as France is liaising with the European Union. So let’s announce the details when the deal is finalized,” he added.

Paris has stepped up efforts in recent week to persuade Tehran not to take the third step, although the three EU parties to the JCPOA have failed to honor their own commitments after the US scrapped the accord in May 2018.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Zarif made an unexpected arrival in Biarritz, where the G7 summit was taking place, and met with French President Emmanuel Macron and with his French counterpart Jean Jean-Yves Le Drian.