Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday that Europe has a “limited opportunity” to preserve the nuclear deal with Tehran, Reuters reported.
“Under the current conditions, Europe has a very limited opportunity to preserve the nuclear deal, and must, as quickly as possible, clarify its position and specify and announce its intentions with regard to its obligations,” Rouhani told Macron in a phone call, according to the report, which cited Iran’s ISNA news agency.
Rouhani told Macron that Iran’s rights under the deal related to the selling of oil, banking, investment and insurance must be “guaranteed” in a transparent and clear way.
Foreign companies who have contracts with Iran must also announce their decision after Trump’s withdrawal from the deal, Rouhani told Macron, according to ISNA.
He also said Iran has met its obligations under the deal and has never enriched uranium for a weapons program.
The phone call between the two leaders came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement and would reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
“Despite what Trump thinks, enrichment in Iran has never been for obtaining a nuclear weapon but instead has been for scientific and technical pursuits,” Rouhani told Macron on Wednesday, according to ISNA.
Macron, who supports the Iran deal, had tried to find a compromise that would have convinced Trump not to withdraw from the agreement but was unsuccessful.
France, Britain and Germany remain committed to the deal, while the EU’s Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini made clear after Trump’s announcement that the EU will stick with the agreement.