France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday said that the Iranian nuclear deal is “not dead” despite US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw.
The 2015 agreement curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions that had been imposed by the UN, US and EU.
In his comments to French radio, Le Drian said “the deal is not dead. There’s an American withdrawal from the deal but the deal is still there”.
The minister said there would be a meeting between France, Britain, Germany and Iran on Monday.
Russia said it was “deeply disappointed” by Trump’s decision while China expressed regret.
The move, however, has been welcomed by Iran’s major regional rivals, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a prominent critic of the accord, said he “fully supports” Trump’s withdrawal from a “disastrous” deal.
