French President Emmanuel Macron's diplomatic aide, Emmanuel Bonne, discussed on Wednesday the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and counteraction to the United States' sanctions against Tehran with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, Iranian media reported
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2019) French President Emmanuel Macron's diplomatic aide, Emmanuel Bonne, discussed on Wednesday the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and counteraction to the United States' sanctions against Tehran with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, Iranian media reported.On Tuesday, Bonne departed for Tehran for two-day talks with the Iranian leadership after the Islamic republic scaled up its uranium enrichment activities.
According to the IRIB tv channel, the meeting mostly focused on the implementation of Europe's commitments under the JCPOA and the mechanism for countering US sanctions.
Bonne refuted rumors that he was in Tehran to serve as a mediator between the United States and Iran, stressing that he had no message for the Iranian leadership, the Fars news agency reported.
Shamkhani, in turn, said that the United States had taken Europe's independence hostage, which was why the European Union should protect itself from Washington's unilateral policy, the Fars news agency added.
On May 8, 2018, Washington fully withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran. A year later, Tehran announced its decision to suspend some of its obligations under the agreement, giving the other nuclear deal signatories France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and the European Union 60 days to save the accord by facilitating oil exports and trade with Iran.
Amid escalating tensions with Washington, Iran started fulfilling its promise. Last week, Zarif confirmed that the country had surpassed the 300-kilogram (660-pound) low-enriched uranium stockpile limit set by the deal. On Sunday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that his country was ready to begin enriching uranium beyond the 3.67 percent level set out in the JCPOA, and that Tehran would go on gradually abandoning its nuclear commitments every 60 days.
