The Elysee Palace said in a statement yesterday, Saturday, that French President Emmanuel Macron expressed to his Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi his disappointment over the lack of progress in talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, while Raisi criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency's decision against his country, and considered it a crisis-producing measure. .

The Elysee Palace indicated that the French leader urged Raisi to adopt a "clear option" to reach an agreement and return to implementing Iran's obligations under the nuclear deal.

In his phone call with President Macron on Saturday, Macron stressed that reviving the agreement on Iran's nuclear program concluded in 2015 "is still possible" provided it "is done as soon as possible."

The Elysee added that Macron "expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress" after several months of suspension of negotiations in Vienna, and "insisted to President Raisi that a clear choice must be made to reach an agreement and return to (Iran's) implementation of its nuclear commitments."

Raisi criticizes the decision of the IAEA

For his part, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said during a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the IAEA's issuance of a resolution against Iran constituted a crisis-producing measure aimed at restricting the Iranian people, and led to a breach of political trust between the two sides.

Raisi pointed to the remarkable positive development in the field of political and economic cooperation between Iran and various countries of the world.

He described the US embargo on his country as harming the global economy, especially Europe, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

"Had it not been for the active role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the context of strengthening the security of the region, emphasizing the fight against terrorism and protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the regional peoples, the (Islamic State) group would have announced the establishment of its state in Europe today," he added.

Raisi stressed that the solution to the region's issues is in the hands of its peoples and governments, because foreign interference destabilizes regional security and stability.

He also expressed his rejection of the option of conflicts and wars to resolve differences between different countries, telling the French president that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to play its role in order to stop conflicts within Ukraine and settle issues through political negotiations."

More than a year ago, Iran and the powers still included in the 2015 agreement (France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China) began talks in Vienna in which the United States indirectly participated, which unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under its former president, Donald Trump.

The currently suspended negotiations aim to return Washington to the agreement and lift the sanctions it imposed on Tehran after its withdrawal, in return for the latter's return to compliance with its nuclear commitments, which it retracted after the US move.