Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Saturday spoke at length French President Emmanuel Macron, the Foreign Ministry said, adding the conversation focused on regional challenges, including the Vienna talks seeking to rein in Iran's nuclear program and Israel's demands to ramp up the pressure on its regional foe.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Western powers have said the nuclear negotiations were too slow to progress, warning there are only "weeks not months" left before the 2015 deal becomes meaningless.
Little remains of that accord, which lifted sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities. Then-US President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018, re-imposing sanctions on the Islamic republic, and Tehran later breached many of the deal's nuclear restrictions, leaving the deal nearly hollow.
"The conversation between the two dealt with the regional challenges, the nuclear talks and Israel's demand to put pressure on Iran, and Israel's relations with the European Union," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Macron reiterated his commitment to Israel's security and stressed the importance of the warm relations between Israel and France."
Lapid's conversation with the French president comes after he visited Paris in November as part of a tour of Europe to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday that he "remain[s] convinced we can reach a deal. Bits of progress have been made in the last few days.
"We have been heading in a positive direction in the last few days, but time is of the essence because if we don't get an accord quickly there will be nothing to negotiate."
Iran refuses to meet directly with US officials, meaning that other parties – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – must shuttle between the two sides.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said last week that Iran has "squandered a lot of trust," warning there is not much time to revive a nuclear deal.
Speaking after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on Wednesday, Baerbock said, "We are pulling in the same direction when it comes to Iran and the discussions and negotiations are entering a crucial phase. [But] Iran has squandered a lot of trust and there is not much time."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
