![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
. | ![]() |
. |
![]() By Valerie Leroux and Siavosh Ghazi Tehran (AFP) March 5, 2018
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian faced a tricky reception in Tehran on Monday as he pushed for curbs to Iran's ballistic missile programme in a bid to preserve its historic nuclear deal. Le Drian said there was "still a lot of work to do" on Iran's missile programme after meeting with top officials, including President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif countered that Europe needed to "play a more constructive role to preserve" the nuclear deal. "And above all to put pressure on the United States to meet its commitments under the deal and not to allow it to present illogical and illegal demands," Zarif added, according to an account by the foreign ministry. The visit comes in the midst of a scramble by European governments to salvage the 2015 deal after US President Donald Trump threatened he would abandon it if it was not "improved" by May 12. Le Drian has insisted he is not "an emissary of Trump", but he has taken a firm line on Iran's missile programme and regional interventions that mirrors the rhetoric from Washington. "There are programmes for missiles with ranges of several thousand kilometres which are not in line with UN Security Council resolutions and go beyond what is needed to secure Iran's borders," Le Drian told Le Journal du Dimanche on the eve of his visit. France has ballistic missiles with ranges of more than 6,000 kilometres, which can be launched from submarines, but Le Drian said Iran was risking fresh sanctions if it did not curb its missile programme, which is currently limited to 2,000 kilometres. His statements have not been warmly received in Iran, with Zarif telling Monday's reformist Etemad newspaper: "In order to keep the United States in the Iran nuclear deal, European countries are suffering from extremism and this will ultimately undermine Europe's policy." Iran's conservative Kayhan newspaper responded with a headline saying: "French foreign minister insults people of Iran before visit to Tehran." The hardline Javan daily was even more blunt: "Trump's Parisian lackey in Tehran". - 'Heavy concerns on Syria' - Le Drian also pressed Iran on the activities of its ally, the Syrian government, amid the ongoing bombardment of civilians in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. "The Iranian authorities told me of their heavy concerns on the humanitarian situation in Syria and their desire to see an end to this catastrophe," Le Drian told reporters. But the key focus has been the 120-day deadline set by Trump in January for US lawmakers and European allies to "fix" the nuclear deal, the top foreign policy achievement of his predecessor Barack Obama. Iran has refused to re-negotiate the deal or add extra clauses, arguing that the US has already failed to keep up its end of the bargain on the existing accord. Despite Le Drian's tough talk on missiles, France remains firmly behind the agreement. "We want to preserve the nuclear deal because it is working, it's robust and because the Iranians are respecting it," his team told AFP ahead of the visit. The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly found Iran is abiding by its commitments, which curbs its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions. IAEA director general Yukiya Amano said on Monday that losing the nuclear deal "would be a great loss for nuclear verification and for multilateralism". - France's re-engagement - If the political track looks tricky, France is hoping its cultural diplomacy can offer a more positive flavour to the trip. On Monday Le Drian inaugurated an "unprecedented" show of items from the Louvre in Paris at Tehran's National Museum. "Relations between France and Iran are old and profound because France was a pioneer of archaeological exploration here," said Jean-Luc Martinez, president of the Louvre. Despite their differences, Iran has broadly welcomed France's efforts to re-engage with the country. Last year's $5 billion gas exploration deal with French energy giant Total was the biggest in Iran since the nuclear accord, and showed French firms were willing to stand up to pressure from Washington. vl-er/hkb
![]() ![]() Iran says no missile talks unless West gives up its nuclear weapons Tehran (AFP) March 3, 2018 Iran's armed forces spokesman said on Saturday that there can be no talks on the country's missile programme without the West's destruction of its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. "What Americans say out of desperation with regards to limiting the Islamic republic of Iran's missile capability is an unattainable dream," Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri told the official IRNA news agency. "The condition for negotiations on Iran's missiles is the destruction of America's and Europe's nucle ... read more
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |