French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he believed that the conditions for the leaders of the United States and Iran to meet were now in place, but the ball was now in their court to make it happen.
"I believe that the conditions in this context for a rapid return to negotiations have been created," Macron told reporters before heading back to Paris from New York, where he attended the annual United Nations General Assembly.
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"It's now up to the Iranians and the United States to seize these conditions and work together to relaunch momentum."
The French leader has been pushing to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran over the last few weeks, especially after an attack on Saudi oil facilities on Sept 14. that the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia have blamed on Iran.
Macron used two days of shuffle diplomacy at the UN to try to bring US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani face-to-face or at the very least get them to engage, fearing that a new incident could inflame the region.
But, with Rouhani demanding the United States lift tough sanctions that have strangled its economy and Washington refusing to do so until Iran comes to the table without conditions, the chances of a breakthrough still appear slim, even if the two leaders are still in New York on Wednesday.
"There is a common desire to progress and to not just find the terms of a de-escalation, but build a long-term accord," Macron said. "But it depends on the will of both sides."
Macron said the parameters of the talks were to ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon, end Yemen's civil war, develop a plan for regional security that includes other crises in the region, ensure maritime flows in the Strait of Hormuz and lift economic sanctions.
But while Macron said those were the conditions, there appeared little to suggest that either side had agreed to take the next step.
"I think that lifting of sanctions on the part of the Americans without any visibility on the other subjects is not possible," Macron said.
"At the same time, clear commitments from Iran on the points I mentioned are not possible without American commitments."
When asked whether he thought they could still meet this week, Macron urged the two leaders to not miss the chance.
"I don't think in the coming weeks and months there will be an opportunity for him [Rouhani] to come back to the US, and I don't think President Trump will be going to Tehran," he said.
"It's a physical opportunity to seize because I think the best way to start a negotiation is to have a meeting, have a frank discussion between the two main protagonists," Macron said.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "raised our deep concern about Iran's destabilizing activity in the region, including the attacks on the Aramco oil facilities, and insisted this must stop," during a meeting with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in New York on Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement.
He stressed support for the Iran nuclear deal and the need for dialogue, "including on a comprehensive successor deal."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also expressed concerns about the Middle East situation on Tuesday.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Abe called the Sept. 15 attacks on Saudi oil facilities "an extremely contemptible crime that holds the international economic order hostage."
He did not, however, specify who Japan thought was behind the attacks.
Japan has traditionally had friendly ties with Iran and Abe has been trying to ease the tensions between Tehran and Tokyo's closest ally, Washington.
"It is my own unchanging role to call on Iran as a major power to take actions that are grounded in the wisdom derived from its rich history," Abe said, noting that Japan shared concerns regarding the Middle East situation.
Abe met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier in the day.
Abe also said he supported US President Donald Trump's approach to North Korea.
"The approach by which the two leaders talk candidly with each other and try to work out the issues at hand while seeing a bright future ahead has changed the dynamics surrounding North Korea," he said. He repeated that he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "without attaching any conditions."
