{"id":60043,"date":"2018-03-05T06:21:43","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T06:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=60043"},"modified":"2018-03-05T06:21:43","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T06:21:43","slug":"french-minister-to-lay-out-concerns-on-ballistics-regional-role-in-iran-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/french-minister-to-lay-out-concerns-on-ballistics-regional-role-in-iran-visit.html","title":{"rendered":"French minister to lay out concerns on ballistics, regional role in Iran visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

French minister to lay out concerns on ballistics, regional role in Iran visit<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

France\u2019s foreign minister was in Iran on Monday to reaffirm Europe\u2019s commitment to a nuclear deal that opened the Iranian economy to investment, but also to echo concerns raised by U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened to quit the agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jean-Yves Le Drian will tell Iran it must address the West\u2019s misgivings about its ballistic missile program and military activities around the Middle East – points the White House says need attention if the nuclear pact is to survive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be Donald Trump\u2019s envoys or Iran\u2019s defense lawyers,\u201d said a French diplomatic source.\u201cWe have our own concerns and will talk to the different sensibilities of the Iranian system to get our point across.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump has said European allies must help\u201cfix\u201d the nuclear deal before a May 12 deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2015 accord between France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China and the United States gave Iran relief from economic sanctions in return for curbs to its nuclear program, allowing Tehran to talk trade with Europe for the first time in years.<\/span><\/p>\n

France has been quick to restore trade ties. Planemaker Airbus, oil major Total and automobile manufacturers Peugeot and Renault have signed deals, all of which could be at risk if Trump walks out of the accord.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an effort to keep him on board, French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized Iran\u2019s ballistics program and raised the possibility of new sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the eve of Le Drian\u2019s visit, he told President Hassan Rouhani France expects Iran to make a\u201cconstructive contribution\u201d to solving crises in the Middle East, Macron\u2019s office said on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tehran supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels, including groups backed by the West, and backs Israel\u2019s enemy Hezbollah in Lebanon.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two presidents agreed in their phone call to work together in the coming days with the United Nations, the Syrian government and other countries involved to improve the situation for civilians and make a ceasefire effective, Paris said.<\/span><\/p>\n

France has urged Washington to see the nuclear deal separately from Iran\u2019s regional activities and its missile program, and Le Drian will stress Macron\u2019s commitment to the nuclear accord, especially as Iran is respecting its terms, French officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Le Drian is due to meet Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as well as officials close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.<\/span><\/p>\n

Khamenei said on March 1 that Iran would keep supporting Assad\u2019s war effort and a Foreign Ministry spokesman on Sunday rejected Macron\u2019s comments about Iran\u2019s missile program, insisting its\u201cdefensive missile work\u201d would continue.<\/span><\/p>\n

An official close to Rouhani said Iran\u201chas always been open to talks and to resolve issues through diplomacy … but this does not mean we will yield to unjust pressure over our inevitable rights, whether defensive or anything else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While France says Iran is sticking to the terms of the nuclear deal, it may not be respecting part of U.N. resolution 2231 that calls on it to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.<\/span><\/p>\n

The resolution enshrines the nuclear deal, which itself makes no explicit reference to the ballistics program, but it is unclear whether the wording binds Tehran to an obligatory commitment on missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the ballistics, the Iranian program is not compatible with 2231 and we have a particular concern on the transfer of know-how of ballistic capacity to regional actors and by that we mean Hezbollah,\u201d said the diplomatic source.<\/span><\/p>\n

A second diplomat said:\u201cWhile our concerns aren\u2019t directly linked to the nuclear deal, it\u2019s important we make progress on these other subjects because otherwise Trump risks killing the deal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-iran-france\/french-minister-to-lay-out-concerns-on-ballistics-regional-role-in-iran-visit-idUSKBN1GH05E<\/span><\/p>\n

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