JCPOA to boost Iran-France ties: Zarif

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the implementation of a recent nuclear agreement reached between Iran and six world powers will improve the Islamic Republic’s ties with France.

“The implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) will prepare the ground for broader cooperation between the two countries on such areas as energy, transportation, auto-making industries and other fields in which Iran and France previously had cooperation,” Zarif said in a joint press conference with the visiting French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, in Tehran on Wednesday.

Iran and the P5+1 - the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China - plus Germany managed to finalize the text of the JCPOA in the Austrian capital of Vienna on July 14. Under the JCPOA, limits are put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for a set of commitments by the P5+1, including the removal of all economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian minister further said he held “good” discussions with his French counterpart in Tehran on ways to promote Tehran-Paris cooperation in various sectors and noted that a French economic delegation would travel to Tehran by the end of this summer.

He added that the French foreign minister’s current visit to Tehran and his talks with senior Iranian officials would lay the groundwork for “clearing up certain misunderstandings.”

“During [our] talks today, we agreed to expand political dialog between the two countries,” Zarif pointed out.

He noted that political dialog between Iran and France has been confined to nuclear issues, but that the two sides are determined to hold regular meetings among their officials at different levels.

The top Iranian diplomat also hailed Fabius’s current visit, saying a French foreign minister is travelling to Tehran after 17 years within the framework of mutual relations at a ministerial level.

The former French foreign minister visited Iran in 2003, he said, adding the trip, however, took place within the framework of delegations from three European countries.

Iran-France consensus on anti-terror cooperation

Zarif further said he held good discussions with the French foreign minister on the importance of regional cooperation to fight terrorism and extremism.

“Fight against extremism and terrorism, fight against smuggling of drugs and cooperation on the environment can be served as grounds for cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

He added that all countries in the region and across the world should boost convergence to battle terrorism.

Hollande’s invitation for Rouhani

Fabius said he carried an invitation from French President Francois Hollande for his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani to visit Paris in November.

"I am carrying an invitation from the president of the French republic to the Iranian president to visit France if he wishes, in November," Fabius said during the press conference.

He added that Iran is an influential country in the region and noted that Tehran and Paris share common ground on the campaign against terrorism and extremism.

As France's chief diplomat in the nuclear negotiations, Fabius lauded the JCPOA as an agreement for peace and stability in the region and the world.

The French foreign minister arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday to hold talks with the country’s high-ranking officials.

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