Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has used a meeting with the French Foreign Minister to press for Europe’s separation from the US over the July 2015 nuclear deal.
The Trump Administration has not withdrawn from the JCPOA, despite Donald Trump’s repeated declarations of the “worst deal” ever for the US. But Washington is continuing to press Iran through the economic and financial sanctions, which have deterred European firms from completing trade and investment deals essential to the Islamic Republic’s recovery.
The European Union and the three European signatories of the deal — France, the UK, and Germany — have continued their support of the accord. However, they have pushed Iran to negotiate a separate deal over Tehran’s ballistic missile development, a call rejected by the Islamic Repbublic so far. French President Emmanuel Macron has also led statements of concern that Iran may be supplying missiles used by Yemen’s Houthi insurgency in attacks on Saudi Arabia.