Meeting Between Macron and Trump Begins in Washington

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, who has traveled to Washington for discussions with Donald Trump, was welcomed by his American counterpart. It is expected that Iran and the nuclear agreement will be among the topics discussed between the two sides. Donald Trump and his wife Melania welcomed Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte on April 22. The presidents of the two countries and their spouses met at the White House, where they also planted a tree. Emmanuel Macron emphasized the importance of his visit to the United States, referring to the 'current conditions'. According to the French president, the parties are set to discuss security, economic issues, and other matters. Reuters reports that economic issues and the topic of Iran are likely to be among the areas where the parties have deep disagreements. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, ahead of Macron's visit to the U.S., called on European leaders via Twitter to convince Washington to remain in the JCPOA and fully implement it. U.S. European allies, including France and its president Emmanuel Macron, have supported the nuclear agreement and the necessity of adherence to it. However, Donald Trump has described the nuclear deal with Iran as the 'worst deal' and set a deadline last January for 'fixing the flaws of the JCPOA', which ends in three weeks. Trump has set four conditions for the continued U.S. participation in the JCPOA, which include: 'immediate access' for international inspectors to all sites and facilities in Iran, making restrictions on Iran's nuclear program permanent, ensuring that Iran does not approach nuclear weapons, and limiting Iran's long-range missile program; as the U.S. president stated, the long-range missile program and Iran's nuclear weapons program are 'inseparable'. Before his trip to the United States, Macron stated in an interview with Fox News: 'I have no alternative plan for this agreement. Let's keep this framework because compared to what we see with North Korea, this agreement is a better option.' The previous day, Izumi Nakamitsu, a senior UN official on disarmament, also urged all parties to the JCPOA to adhere to the agreement and not withdraw from it. John Tierman, executive director of the Center for International Studies at MIT, told Radio Farda that if the United States ultimately withdraws from the JCPOA, the chances for dialogue on other issues, such as Iran's activities in the region and the development of ballistic missiles, may also disappear. This is another issue expected to be raised in Macron's negotiations with Trump. The topic of the nuclear agreement and adherence or withdrawal from the JCPOA has been reflected in the statements of several other senior European officials and the Prime Minister of Israel in recent days. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Sunday, on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, 'One of the things we are currently concerned about is the [nuclear agreement] and we want to know where it is heading.' German Chancellor Angela Merkel also stated in an interview with an Israeli television network, 'An imperfect agreement is better than no agreement at all.' On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch critic of the nuclear agreement, reiterated his views on April 22, stating: 'We are firmly opposed to the nuclear agreement with Iran; an agreement that for Tehran is like a direct path to nuclear weapons. This agreement must either be completely revised or completely dismantled.' European countries have, in recent months, aligned with the United States in protest and criticism of what they call Tehran's destabilizing activities in the region, or the testing and development of ballistic missiles in Iran, human rights violations, and other issues.