Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, met with French President, Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of the 45th G7 Summit in France. (Image via Twitter)

Iran FM surprises G7 in France

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
International
Aug 26, 2019
2082
BIARRITZ - Before the closing day of the 45th G7 Summit held from 24 to 26 August, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, made an unexpected entrance on Sunday. On a side note, the minister did not attend the summit, but the talks held on the sidelines of the summit in Biarritz.

Revealed in his official Twitter account, Zarif hinted that he was about to hold brief talks with his French counterpart and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. Zarif had also met Macron on the eve of the Summit on Friday.

The Iranian minister referred to the talks between the European officials as a “difficult road”, yet noted that it was worth the shot. Zarif also hinted that he would be meeting with British and German leaders, yet another brief meeting.

From the appearance, many state officials were surprised. The U.S was the one surprised the most. The U.S and Iran have never been in good bilateral relations since 2015 when Uncle Sam decided to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which regulated nuclear activities in Iran and impose sanctions on Iran in exchange.

From eight countries, the U.S alone backed off, while other signatories remain faithful to the JCPOA. In return, Iran decided to pile up its nuclear activity against the U.S and threatened them that it would double the activity if the other countries did not help in battling the U.S pressure.

The sidelines meeting between Macron and Zarif was seen as a measure for the West and Iran to seek a way out of harm’s way, especially judging the incidents in recent months involving drones and tanker seizures.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49468985

Politics , International , G7 , Summit , France , Iran , EU , US , Nuclear