A diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron held talks in Tehran Wednesday aimed at saving the 2015 nuclear deal and easing tensions between Iran and the United States.
Emmanuel Bonne met Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and was set to meet with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif later on Wednesday.
Bonnes' mission is "to try and open the discussion space to avoid an uncontrolled escalation, or even an accident," according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
The accord between Iran and world powers, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), promised sanctions relief, economic benefits and an end to international isolation in return for stringent curbs on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.
But Tehran says it has lost patience with perceived inaction by European countries more than a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of the agreement.
The European parties to the deal along with the EU's diplomatic chief on Tuesday called on Tehran to reverse breaches of the agreement.
Iran "must act accordingly by... returning to full JCPOA compliance without delay," said a statement from the European Union and foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain.
Iran until recently consistently lived up to its commitments under the deal, but is now in breach of two aspects, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is tasked with inspections.
Bonne arrived in Tehran after Iran announced on Monday it had surpassed 4.5 percent uranium enrichment -- above the 3.67 percent limit under the agreement, though still far below the 90 percent necessary for military purposes.
- 'Very critical phase' -
The IAEA said on Monday that Iran has exceeded the purification cap, having earlier this month confirmed it had surpassed 300 kilogrammes of enriched uranium reserves, another limit that was imposed by the deal.
But in an apparent effort to boost France's diplomatic efforts, Le Drian described these breaches as "slight excesses."
A source at the French presidency said "we are in a very critical phase. The Iranians are taking measures that are in violation (of the agreement) but (they) are very calibrated."
"Donald Trump is a dealmaker," this source added. "The Iranians exaggerate, but not too much, and Trump is exerting maximum pressure but he is doing this so that he can get a deal."
After Washington withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, it reimposed stinging sanctions on Tehran, hitting the banking and oil sectors hard.
As the Iranian economy went into free fall, Iran demanded that the other parties to the deal -- especially France, Germany and Britain -- deliver promised economic benefits and help it bypass the US sanctions.
However, it became clear that this was no simple task, and Iran -- whose economy depends heavily on oil exports -- changed tack and indicated it would reshape its policy of "strategic patience".
In May, a year after Trump's withdrawal, President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran would roll back its commitments under the deal in stages every 60 days in an effort to force the other parties to deliver on their side of the bargain.
- French efforts 'welcome' -
As tensions rose, the United States dispatched a naval carrier, bombers and extra troops to the region to counter perceived threats from Iran.
Last month Trump said he had called off a retaliatory military strike against Iran at the last minute after the Islamic republic shot down a US drone that it said had crossed into its airspace, a claim denied by Washington.
In reaction to Tehran's latest breach the US president on Tuesday said Iran is "doing a lot of bad things."
"They'd better be very careful," he told reporters at the White House.
But despite the heightened rhetoric between the US and Iran, Macron is pursuing his diplomatic track.
On Saturday he held an hour-long conversation with Rouhani in which he said he wanted to "explore the conditions for a resumption of dialogue between all parties".
The White House confirmed that Macron and Trump had discussed the standoff.
While pointblank refusing any talks with the Trump administration, Iran has been receptive to French diplomacy.
"We welcome their activities because the French are a part of the JCPOA and we consider their efforts as part of their duty" to keep the agreement alive, said foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.
"The US and the European countries are deceiving us... We wasted six years investing in our relationship with Europe," Majidi, a salesman in Tehran, told AFP, adding that the best option now is to pull out of the deal immediately.
Macron seeks lead EU role in Iran crisis
Paris (AFP) July 9, 2019 - French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to lead European diplomatic efforts to find a face-saving solution to the latest crisis between Tehran and Washington, with the EU looking to buy time and soothe tensions, diplomats and experts say.
Macron dispatched an envoy to Tehran for the second time in a month on Tuesday in another attempt to convince the Iranian government to come back into compliance with a landmark 2015 deal limiting its nuclear programme.
After President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of the deal in May 2018, Iran has begun enriching uranium to higher levels, leading to fears the faltering accord could be doomed.
If it falls apart and Iran continues enriching uranium all the way to levels approaching those that could be used in a weapon, diplomats see a high risk of conflict in the Middle East involving the United States and possibly its ally Israel.
"We are buying time. The Iranians are too," a European diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. "We need to bring Iran back on board in exchange for a symbolic gesture from the United States."
Analysts agree that European efforts in the short-term have to be two-fold: convincing Iran to stop enriching, then convincing Trump to suspend some of the crippling new economic sanctions he has imposed on Tehran.
"It's about creating the conditions for both sides (the US and Iran) to back away from the corners they are stuck in because the end-game here is negotiation," Sanam Vakil, an expert at the Chatham House think-tank in London, told AFP.
"For Iran to come back to the negotiating table, they have made it abundantly clear there will have to be sanctions relief granted."
- Macron to Tehran? -
Macron has taken an active mediation role, speaking to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Trump in recent days.
Last year, he was weighing whether to become the first French leader to travel to Tehran since 1976. But tensions over the nuclear issue and Iran's involvement in the wars in Syria and Yemen meant he never accepted an invitation to visit.
Iran's alleged role in a plot to bomb a meeting of opposition activists at a political meeting near Paris in June killed off any possibility, diplomats say.
But recent French media reports suggest Macron might once again be considering travelling to meet Rouhani and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Individually he is probably the best placed to be the E3 leader," said Vakil, referring to the E3 group of European powers which comprises France, Germany and Britain.
"Everyone is talking to each other," the European diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
- Mixed results -
Macron relishes the world stage, but his efforts at mediating in the Middle East have led to mixed results.
He successfully intervened in November 2017 to free Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri after he was detained by Saudi authorities during a trip to the country.
But his efforts in forge a solution in war-torn Libya have yet to yield fruit and he has made enemies in Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, as well as in the UN-recognised government in Tripoli.
Past efforts at lobbying Trump to respect the nuclear deal, particularly during a state visit to Washington in April 2018, came to naught.
Experts say that for the moment Iran is not close to enriching uranium to levels that could be used for a weapon, which would spark a regional arms race and acute security fears in Israel.
But it is considered by European nations to be in breach of its commitments.
The country's atomic energy organisation announced on Monday that it had surpassed a cap on the level to which it can enrich uranium, reaching 4.5 percent, above the 3.67 percent limit stipulated in the deal.
It has also exceeded limits on its stockpile of enriched uranium set in the 2015 accord signed by the US, Iran, Russia, China, Britain, Germany, France and the EU.
European nations are seen as wanting to avoid triggering a dispute mechanism in the text which could lead to sanctions being reimposed.
Such a move would heighten tensions, while the threat of fresh sanctions remains one of few levers available to the Europeans as they seek to convince Iran to respect the deal.
"But the road they are taking (by enriching further) could force us to take a road we don't want to take," said a French diplomat on condition of anonymity.
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Iran passes uranium enrichment cap set by endangered deal
Tehran (AFP) July 8, 2019
Iran on Monday breached a uranium enrichment cap set by a troubled 2015 nuclear deal and warned Europe against taking retaliatory measures, as France decided to send an envoy to Tehran to try to calm tensions. The move came more than a year after Washington pulled out of the landmark accord between world powers and Tehran, which says it has lost patience with perceived inaction by the remaining European partners. After Tehran's latest step, US President Donald Trump held talks with his French co ... read more
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