Macron sends top adviser to Iran in bid to save nuclear deal

9 Jul, 2019 12:24 / Updated 5 years ago

French President Emmanuel Macron’s top diplomatic adviser is in Tehran as part of an urgent bid to de-escalate rising tensions with Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

Adviser Emmanuel Bonne left for Tehran on Tuesday, seeking ways to restart dialogue, AP quoted an Elysee Palace official as saying.

Macron and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed in a weekend conversation to set a July 15 deadline to solve the current impasse, and ultimately save the 2015 nuclear agreement that Washington pulled out of last year.

On Monday, Macron spoke with President Donald Trump – the day Iran began enriching uranium beyond the accord’s 3.67 percent limit, and after breaking the limit on stockpiles. The EU on Tuesday urged Iran to reverse its scaled up uranium enrichment.