Macron asks Iran for 'clear gestures' on nuclear inspections

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday asked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for “clear gestures” and an immediate return to the terms of a landmark nuclear deal with Western powers in a telephone call.

Macron’s office said the French leader also asked Rouhani to fully cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, on inspections and expressed his “deepest concern” over Iranian violations of the accord.

The 2015 deal — called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — has been hanging by a thread since former US president Donald Trump withdrew Washington from it and reimposed punishing sanctions on Iran in 2018.