Iran dismisses French offer to mediate with US on nuclear deal

Iran appears to dismiss an offer by France to mediate between the United States and the Islamic Republic in order to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

“The nuclear deal has no need for a mediator,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh tells reporters without specifically mentioning France, but in response to a question about recent comments by the country’s president.

Emmanuel Macron said last week he was ready to act as an “honest broker” in talks between the new US administration of President Joe Biden and Tehran after the multilateral deal was torpedoed by ex-president Donald Trump.

“I will do whatever I can to support any initiative from the US side to re-engage in a demanding dialogue, and I will… try to be an honest broker and a committed broker in this dialogue,” Macron said.