French President Emmanuel Macron says he hopes for a meeting in coming weeks between US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Speaking alongside Trump at the close of the G-7 summit in Biarritz on Monday, Macron said G-7 leaders had agreed that Iran needed to meet its nuclear obligations and that there was a hope for a diplomatic breakthrough in the tensions that have grown since the US left the 2015 nuclear accord.
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"Two things are very important for us: Iran must never have nuclear weapons, and this situation should never threaten regional stability," Macron said in his closing remarks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "What unites us, and that is a big step forward, is that we not only don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons but also that we [want to] find the solution to that via political means."
On Sunday, Iran's foreign minister made a flying visit for talks with host France at the G-7 summit, as Paris ramped up efforts to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington, a dramatic diplomatic move that the White House said had surprised them.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is under US sanctions, flew to the southwest French town of Biarritz where the Group of Seven leaders are meeting. He held more than three hours of talks, including with French President Emmanuel Macron, before heading back to Tehran.
"Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying," Zarif tweeted, adding that in addition to meeting French leaders he had given a joint briefing to officials from Germany and Britain.
