Trump denies giving OK to France to act as go-between with Iran

BIARRITZ, France (AP) — The first fissures emerge among G-7 leaders over how to deal with Iran, as US President Donald Trump denies he had signed on to an agreement on giving France a leading role as a go-between with the world’s major democracies.

Trump had tried to play down tensions among Group of Seven leaders after an intimate dinner Saturday in the southwest French resort of Biarritz, but comes out swiftly to dispute France’s claim that they had agreed to let French President Emmanuel Macron deliver a message to Iran on their behalf.

For several months, Macron has taken a lead role in trying to save the 2015 nuclear accord, which has been unraveling since Trump pulled the US out of the agreement.

No details are provided on what the G-7 message to Iran would be but Macron said the goal is to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and avoid a further escalation in tensions in the Middle East.

“I haven’t discussed that,” Trump says this morning. He describes the dinner as “very, very good” and blames the media for anything that implied otherwise.

— AP

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and US President Donald Trump, right, participate in a G-7 Working Session on the Global Economy, Foreign Policy, and Security Affairs the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

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