French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian speaks at a joint press conference with the Turkish foreign minister (not pictured) following a meeting at the Presidential Complex in the Turkish capital Ankara on September 14, 2017. (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday he will soon travel to Iran to prepare a visit by President Emmanuel Macron and raise concerns about Tehran’s missile programs and regional role.
The visit comes as France is hoping to salvage the nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers after US President Donald Trump refused to certify the agreement, leaving its fate to Congress.
Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Le Drian again defended the nuclear deal saying it “removes the possibility for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
“But that does not prevent us from being firm and demanding on the other issues” such as Iran’s missile program and it regional activities, he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron looks on during a joint address to the media on June 8, 2017 in Paris. (AFP/Patrick Kovarik)
Iran has been criticized for providing military backing for Syrian President Bashar Assad and support to Shiite rebels in Yemen as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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Le Drian said he would raise those concerns during his visit expected to take place during the second half of November.
Macron would be the first French president to visit Iran since 1976, but the foreign minister did not give dates for that trip.
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