Speaking before the US Congress, Emmanuel Macron said that France is not going to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal — also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — which was signed in 2015.
"France will not leave the JCPOA because we've signed it," Macron said. "We can work on a more comprehensive deal."
The comment comes after statements from the US State Department and EU foreign police chief Federica Mogherini, who reiterated their commitment to the agreement.
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At a joint presser with Donald Trump on Tuesday, he urged the US president not to "tear apart" the current deal, instead advising to build on it to develop a broader deal. He noted that Paris wanted to work on a new nuclear deal with Iran that would include international players like Russia and Turkey.
US President Donald Trump has consistently been criticizing the 2015 deal, which was inked by Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group (the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom plus Germany). He called the accord, which stipulates the gradual lifting of anti-Tehran sanctions in exchange for Iran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, the “worst deal ever.”
