Trump and Macron Discuss Middle East and Iran in Phone Call

The White House announced on August 9 that U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed trade, Iran, and Middle Eastern issues during a phone call. In this context, Donald Trump also tweeted: 'I had a very good phone conversation with Emmanuel Macron, President of France. We discussed various topics, especially security and trade issues.' The White House statement clarified that the leaders of the two countries discussed a wide range of issues, including the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East. Meanwhile, the Élysée Palace issued a brief statement indicating that the leaders discussed Syria, Iran, and the Israel-Palestine issue. Reuters reports that the French presidential office's statement did not mention negotiations regarding trade issues. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron last met last month during a NATO summit in Brussels, where the U.S. President criticized NATO members for not meeting their defense budget commitments. According to Reuters, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have differing views on the U.S. government's approach to withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA. On August 6, Donald Trump signed an executive order that reinstated some sanctions against the Islamic Republic that had been suspended after the nuclear deal was reached. However, the U.S. President also stated the next day on Twitter, referring to the official return of sanctions on Iran, that 'anyone doing business with Iran will not be doing business with the United States.' Trump emphasized that these sanctions are the 'most biting' sanctions ever imposed and that another phase will roll out in November. In May of this year, after the deadline for amending the JCPOA expired, Trump announced the United States' withdrawal from the nuclear deal and ordered the reinstatement of Iran's sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department has planned the reinstatement of Iran's sanctions in two phases, with the second phase, which mainly targets Iran's oil industry, set to take effect on November 4. U.S. officials state that they are working to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero by that time. Several major French companies operating in Iran, including the oil company Total and automotive companies Peugeot and Renault, left Iran before the U.S. sanctions were implemented.