Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses a meeting with the country’s diplomats in Tehran on August 6, 2019. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
In a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron the same day, President Rouhani said negotiations between Iran and the US will become ‘meaningless’ unless sanctions on Tehran are eased.
Rouhani added that if current negotiations with Europe are finalized, Iran is ready to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement signed in 2015 between Iran and six major powers - Britain, China, France, Russia, the US, and Germany. He said a meeting between Iran and the P5+1 group is only possible when sanctions are lifted.
In recent weeks, Rouhani has had a series of conversations with Macron, who has been spearheading European efforts to salvage the nuclear deal between Iran and major global powers.