Tehran (AFP)

Iranian President Hassan Rohani warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Iran will continue to distance itself from the 2015 nuclear deal if Europe fails to meet its own commitments in a phone interview on Saturday, the report said. Iranian presidency.

This was the first exchange between the two leaders since the meeting on August 25 between Macron and the head of Iranian diplomacy Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz (France).

In May 2018, the United States stepped out of the international agreement reached in Vienna in 2015 to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and reimposed heavy sanctions that stifle the Iranian economy.

Tehran has responded by progressively freeing itself from certain commitments of the agreement and has since tried to convince the European parties to this agreement (France, Great Britain, Germany) to take concrete measures to override US sanctions, notably to export his oil.

"If Europe is unable to deliver on its commitments, Iran will take a third step to reduce its commitments under the JCPOA" (the 2015 nuclear deal), Rohani told Macron, according to a statement. of the Iranian presidency.

"(Nevertheless) this measure, like the previous ones, will be reversible," he added.

Iran has not specified what this third step could be. But Mr Zarif said in a recent interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that it would be crossed on 6 September.

The president's chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, however, said late Saturday that the date of the decision could be advanced: "In the event that Iran's demands are not met, a committee that decides on the third step will take its decision (...) two or three days before that date, "he said according to the official Irna news agency.

He said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will take an Iranian economic delegation to France on Monday to discuss proposals to save the deal.

- "Peace and security" -

During the telephone conversation with Mr. Macron, Mr. Rohani recalled that "the full implementation" of the Iran nuclear agreement and the "security of maritime transport in the waterways including the Gulf and the Strait of 'Ormuz' were Iran's two objectives in the current negotiations.

For his part, Emmanuel Macron again "stressed the importance of the dynamics underway to create the conditions for a de-escalation through dialogue," he said in a statement from the Elysee.

For France, "the important thing was to check, after the debate in the G7 on Iran, that the parameters of the negotiation remain valid and that President Rohani is always available to negotiate.And this is the case," says a French diplomatic source.

Paris believes that on the one hand Iran must return to its JCPOA commitments, and on the other hand that Donald Trump should pause in its economic sanctions, for example by letting Iran export some of its oil .

Paris also recalled the need to restore "peace and security in the Middle East," according to the Elysee.

The French president called on Iran to "act to end the fighting and open the negotiation in Yemen". He called for "the greatest restraint in Lebanon" as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalate.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have seen a new outbreak of fever in mysterious attacks on vessels in the Gulf region in May and June. A drone was shot down and tankers seized, raising fears of uncontrollable escalation.

A slight easing however appeared on the occasion of the G7 summit, whose discussions created, according to Mr. Macron, "the conditions for a meeting and therefore an agreement" between Mr. Rohani and Donald Trump.

The latter has not ruled out the principle of such a meeting but Mr. Rohani has thrown a cold Tuesday emphasizing that Washington should first lift all sanctions against Iran, as reiterated by his Minister of Foreign Affairs .

© 2019 AFP