US, France for new nuclear deal on Iran

WASHINGTON: French President Emmanuel Macron and his American counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday called for a new nuclear deal with Iran, after the US leader denounced the accord as “insane.”

“I can say that we have had very frank discussions on that, just the two of us,” Macron told a joint press conference with Trump. “We, therefore, wish from now on to work on a new deal with Iran.”

Trump’s European allies have repeatedly tried to persuade him not to walk away from the 2015 deal, which gave Iran massive sanctions relief and the guarantee of a civilian nuclear programme in return for curbs on programmes that could be used to develop an atomic weapon.

It did not tackle western complaints about Iran’s ballistic missile programmes or support for militant groups across the Middle East.

Trump faces a May 12 deadline to decide on its fate and is demanding changes that many in Europe believe would represent a legal breach. “I think we will have a great shot at doing a much bigger, maybe, deal,” said Trump, stressing that any new deal would have to be built on “solid foundations.”

“This is a deal with decayed foundations. It’s a bad deal, it’s a bad structure. It’s falling down,” the US leader said.

When asked to clarify if he meant he was pushing for a new accord, or an add-on agreement, Macron said: “I’m not saying that we move from one agreement to another.”

Iran, meanwhile, has warned it will ramp up enrichment activities if Trump walks away from the accord.