President Hassan Rouhani told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in a telephone conversation on Sunday that Tehran has a variety of plans in mind in response to the possible US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
In the phone call that lasted more than an hour, Rouhani reminded Macron of Washington's constant moves to undermine the deal, saying that "Iran has currently made critical decisions regarding banking ties, foreign exchange and other economy-related issues, with various plans devised in the face of any possible May 12 outcome," his official website reported.
This comes as the May 12 deadline looms for Trump to decide on whether to restore US economic sanctions on Tehran–something which could destroy the agreement which lifted some sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program.
The president reiterated the significance of the accord to "building trust" among nations involved, "maintaining regional security" and "expanding international cooperation."
Macron paid a visit to Washington last week, proposing "a new deal" that addresses what US and its allies call are concerns over Iran's ballistic missile program, the so-called sunset clauses to the deal (nuclear restrictions due to expire by the end of 2025), and Tehran's regional role.
Macron's office said he had raised that view during the talk with Rouhani.
Rouhani said last week that he had previously told Macron during another phone conversation that "either adding or removing a clause from JCPOA is not acceptable."
***No New Commitment
Echoing that view, he again told the French president on Sunday that Tehran would not accept any commitment beyond the deal, stressing that the country would not negotiate any other issue over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and that deal itself "is by no means negotiable."
Macron acknowledged the trust-building role of the accord, asserting that France and other European signatories intend to preserve the deal as it is a good example for resolving regional issues–a point he had previously raised in the US Congress, president.ir reported.
It cited the French leader as saying that "the EU and France stance regarding the deal is to stay in it."
Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany have agreed that the nuclear deal remains the best way of ensuring that Iran's nuclear program will remain peaceful, British Prime Minister Theresa May's office said on Sunday, Reuters reported.
May had phone calls with Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel where they agreed the deal may need to be broadened to cover areas such as ballistic missiles, what happens when the deal expires and what they consider Iran's "destabilizing" regional activity, a statement said.
