New York, September 20 (QNA) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met today with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
During the meeting, the first of its kind between an Iranian president and a Western president, Rais an Macron discussed developments related to the Iranian nuclear program, and other issues.
The Iranian president stressed his country's readiness to reach a "fair and sustainable" agreement on its nuclear program, but before that it is necessary to "obtain reassuring guarantees and close the safeguards files related to Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency," according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
For his part, the French president said, in statements to reporters after the meeting: that the ball is now in Tehran's court, with regard to reaching a nuclear agreement, stressing the need for the International Atomic Energy Agency to be able to carry out its work independently.
The European Troika countries (France, Britain and Germany) had expressed in a statement, on the tenth of this September, their frustration with what they called a demand by Iran in talks to revive the nuclear agreement concluded in 2015, calling on the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations to close an investigation into finding traces of uranium in three locations.
The three countries said this last demand raises serious doubts about Iran's intentions and commitment to a successful outcome of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal).
Iran criticized the European statement, and said in the words of Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for its Foreign Ministry: It represented an "ill-considered step that came at an inappropriate time." In 2019, Iran announced the abandonment of some of its obligations under the nuclear agreement concluded with international powers in 2015, and the resumption of production of enriched uranium at the Fordow facility, in response to the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement in May 2018, and its re-imposition of severe sanctions on Tehran.
Last June, Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, announced that Iran had informed the agency that it would stop the work of 27 cameras to monitor nuclear activities.
(QNA)