MNA � The Iranian and French presidents spoke by telephone Thur. and discussed the most important bilateral, regional and international issues, stressing that efforts for safeguarding the JCPOA should be continued.


In the phone call with President Emmanuel Macron of France that was made on Thursday evening, President Hassan Rouhani stressed that France should make efforts for saving the nuclear deal (JCPOA) and said "the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to keep all routes open for safeguarding the JCPOA".








Referring to the visit of the French President's special envoy to Tehran, Rouhani said�"the Iranian and European parties to the JCPOA must make efforts to take equal steps in saving the deal."

The Iranian President went on to state that the United States' intensified sanctions obstruct JCPOA's protection, saying�"there are some in the United States who do not want efforts for saving the deal to be successful, an example of it is the recent decision by the US Congress to steal over $1.5 billion of Iranian nation's money."

"Europe should accelerate its efforts to ensure Iran's legitimate interests are met, and the United States' economic war is over," he said.

Rouhani also described transactions through INSTEX and transfer of Iran's oil money from the channel important for safeguarding the JCPOA, and continued�"passing of time and losing opportunities will force Iran to take its third step."

Rouhani described the lift of US sanctions as another solution for saving the deal, saying�"few-month solutions are not acceptable at all for stopping Iran's activities".

During the same telephone call, President of France Emmanuel Macron underscored ease of tensions and efforts by all parties to save the JCPOA, saying�"unfortunately, there are always extremists who prevent other countries' efforts for reaching peace, and the United States' announcement about intensification of sanctions against Iran is in the same vein."

Stating that Europe has accelerated its actions for practical activation of INSTEX, the French President referred to the joint statement of three European countries for securing Iran's interests in the JCPOA.

He said�"sanctions by the United States have made problems for many countries' commercial activities with Iran."

"France is very determined to resolve all problems regarding safeguarding the JCPOA, and this requires all parties' efforts," he said.