Macron, Rouhani agree to work to save Iran nuclear deal

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French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by telephone on Sunday and agreed to work together in coming weeks to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, the Elysee said in a statement.

In a conversation lasting more than an hour, Macron also proposed that the discussions be broadened to cover "three additional, indispensable subjects," his office said, citing Tehran's ballistic missile programs, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 and "the main regional crises" in the Middle East.

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Earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she had spoken with Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and all had agreed that the Iran nuclear deal was the best way of stopping Tehran gaining nuclear weapons.

May held phone calls with the two European leaders in which they agreed the deal may need to be broadened to cover other areas such as ballistic missiles, what happens when the deal expires, and Iran's destabilizing regional activity, a statement said.

"They committed to continue working closely together and with the US on how to tackle the range of challenges that Iran poses – including those issues that a new deal might cover," the statement said.

This comes as a deadline looms on May 12 for President Donald Trump to decide on whether to restore US economic sanctions on Tehran.

Trump has criticized a 2015 agreement which effectively lifted some Western sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Source(s): Reuters