The flashpoints

Iran deal

One of Macron’s main objectives during his three-day US visit was to persuade Trump to stay in the Iran accord, which is aimed at restricting Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. Macron said he and Trump would look at the deal “in a wider regional context,” taking into account the situation in Syria. “We have a common objective, we want to make sure there’s no escalation and no nuclear proliferation in the region. We now need to find the right path forward,” Macron said. Trump suggested he was open to “doing something” beyond the current Iran deal as long as it was done “strongly.” He also warned Iran against restarting its nuclear program: “They will have bigger problems than they’ve ever had before.” But he declined to say whether he would withdraw the US by the May 12 deadline.

The Syrian situation

At a joint White House conference, Trump appeared to be more in line with Macron’s push for a longer-term US presence in Syria. Trump, who announced weeks ago that he would withdraw American troops, said Macron reinforced the idea of a potential Iranian takeover of territory liberated from Daesh. “We’ll be coming home,” Trump said, “but we want to leave a strong and lasting footprint.”

The North Korean threat

Trump told Macron that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wanted to meet “as soon as possible.” The president, who once derided Kim as “Little Rocket Man,” said he has been “very open” and “very honorable” so far. Macron told Trump that together the US and France would defeat terrorism, curtail weapons of mass destruction in North Korea and Iran, and act together on behalf of the planet.