A lawmaker described the upcoming visits by top French and British officials as “positive”, as they will greatly contribute to the Iranian government’s policy of promoting foreign relations. “The trips by the French president and Britain’s foreign minister to Tehran are positive and in line with efforts to boost the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic interactions,” Morteza Saffari also told IRNA on Saturday. Last week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi confirmed reports on forthcoming visits by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, as well as French president and foreign minister, Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Yves Le Drian, respectively. “Johnson’s visit will happen by the end of 2017. The timing of Macron’s trip is being discussed. Most probably, it would happen after Drian’s trip,” Qasemi said. Britain and France are among signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement that has been harshly criticized by US President Donald Trump who is pressuring his European allies to support his attempts to undermine the deal and link extraneous issues, such as Tehran’s missile program and regional role, with the nuclear deal.
