During the meeting with Le Drian, Araghchi maintained that Iran’s decision to reduce commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) was within its rights under the agreement, “therefore, diplomatic paths are still open” to venture into.

Then, he stressed that as a producer and exporter of oil, Iran holds the security of the Persian Gulf in high regard. “Iran will make every effort to ensure the security of this region, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, and will not allow any disturbance in shipping through this critical region.”

Araghchi went on to slam the US’ economic war against Iran, adding “the United States is targeting the Iranian people with its unlawful and unjust sanctions. Europe is expected to adopt a clear stance in opposition to the US’ maximum pressure policy to drive Iran’s oil exports to zero.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue exporting oil under any circumstances,” stressed the presidential envoy.

For his part, the French foreign minister maintained that his country seeks to de-escalate the existing tensions, adding “France stresses the preservation and implementation of the JCPOA, and will continue its efforts to this end.”

He then discussed the EU’s trade mechanism for Iran, officially known as INSTEX, saying “although the process of creating and launching the trade mechanism took long, the implementation of the mechanism is considered as an important political step.”

After the US’ withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, the European signatories to the deal said they were still trying to keep the accord alive by launching the long-awaited INSTEX to help Iran reap some benefits from the deal.

Iran says as long as the mechanism does not cover its oil revenues, INSTEX is of no use to the country.

Meanwhile, in response to US withdrawal the EU’s inaction, Iran has introduced two phases of its measures to reduce its JCPOA commitments. Tehran’s moves come after its “strategic patience” wore thin after a year of waiting for the European nations to normalize trade ties with Iran.

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The SPV “should be implemented in the coming days”, Jean-Yves Le Drian told the French parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Reuters reported late on Wednesday.

“It will work as a sort of clearing house that will allow in euros for Iran to benefit from some of its oil resources and at the same time buy essential products from the main three main (European) partners,” he added.

The vehicle will be registered in France, run by a German and likely to include France, Germany and Britain as shareholders.

The European Union has vowed to counter US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.

The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.

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“We do not take domestic American politics into account and we want that to be reciprocated,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told LCI television.

“I say this to Donald Trump and the French president says it too: leave our nation be.”

Trump had on Saturday posted two tweets referring to the “yellow vest” anti-government protests that have swept France since mid-November and sparked rioting in Paris, AFP reported.

“Very sad day & night in Paris. Maybe it’s time to end the ridiculous and extremely expensive Paris Agreement and return money back to the people in the form of lower taxes?” he suggested.

Trump had earlier posted: “The Paris Agreement isn’t working out so well for Paris. Protests and riots all over France.

“People do not want to pay large sums of money, much to third world countries (that are questionably run), in order to maybe protect the environment. Chanting ‘We Want Trump!’ Love France.”

The protests in France are not directly linked to the Paris climate agreement which was signed in 2015 and has since been abandoned by Trump, to the dismay of French President Emmanuel Macron and other Western leaders.

Spurred by rising fuel prices – in part due to tax hikes aimed at helping France shift to a lower-carbon economy – the “yellow vest” protests have grown into a broad movement against Macron’s policies and governing style.

Earlier this week Trump retweeted one of several posts falsely claiming that French protesters were chanting his name.

The videos that have been used to support this claim were in fact filmed at a far-right protest in London earlier this year.

Other French politicians have also responded angrily to Trump’s latest tweets, including a lawmaker from Macron’s party who dubbed the US leader “Donald the Senile”.

“Don’t insult my country Dotard,” Joachim Son-Forget posted, employing an antiquated insult previously used against Trump by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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“Today they (Iranians) are complying with it; they must carry on complying with it. I think I heard commitments from President Rouhani in this respect. He is very committed to the agreement, which he regarded as a historic agreement. It is important for the sake of the world’s security for it to be maintained,” Tasnim quoted Le Drian as saying, citing the official website of French embassy in London.

“It must not be touched, it must be enforced, and that’s what we’ll be saying elsewhere too, it’s what President Macron will tell President Trump, it’s a dividing line between us…,” he added.

On March 5, the chief French diplomat paid an official visit to Tehran and held talks with senior Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

“In the meetings I had in Iran, there were points of disagreement, points of friction, where I set out France’s position very clearly and where I questioned the Iranian authorities about their intentions, particularly in the ballistics field. The ballistics field means missiles, and there’s a kind of capability-building frenzy on Iran’s part to acquire more and more missiles,” Le Drian stated.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said that the country will not accept any changes to the nuclear deal and that there will be no talks on Iran’s missile capability.

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“The Islamic Republic of Iran would definitely not bow to pressure and would not change its stances when facing strict policies,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said at a press conference in Tehran on Monday.

Earlier on the same day, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused Iran of not respecting part of a UN resolution that calls on Tehran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles.

Speaking on arrival at a European foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Le Drian also said the 28 ministers would reiterate their concerns over Iran’s activities in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria, which he described as “destabilizing”.

“We will also have the opportunity of underlining our firmness on Iran’s compliance with United Nations Resolution 2231, which limits access to ballistic capacity and which Iran does not respect,” Le Drian was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Under the UN resolution enshrining the 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, Iran is “called upon” to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons.

Iran has repeatedly said its missile program is purely defensive and denied they are designed to carry nuclear warheads.

France, Qassemi said, is allowed to think as it wants to, and it’s natural that “our stances” differ in some respects with those of France or any other country.

He also said Le Drian “is not very familiar with the Iranian society. He should read the history of the Islamic republic and the way we handled pressure and sanctions, so [he] realizes that we can defend ourselves against pressure and at the same time have a more active presence in the region and across the world.”

Le Drian on Sunday said he would travel to Iran in early March and that France had begun talks with Tehran to discuss its missile program and regional activities.

But Qassemi rejected the French foreign minister’s comments, saying, “We have not had any negotiations about our missile and defense capabilities and will not talk about these issues with others.”

On France’s insistence to negotiate with Iran about its influence in the region, the spokesman said Iran will definitely hold in-depth talks with the French foreign minister to make matters “clear”.

“We’ll have plenty to talk about,” he said, adding, “Our influence in the region is definitely positive. Besides, regional and European countries, especially France, have certainly benefited from our influence.”

If it wasn’t for Iran’s influence and the role it played in the region, the bloodthirsty terrorists would have captured Damascus and Baghdad, conducing acts of terror in the heart of Europe, Qassemi stressed.

Asked about a report that Britain, France and Germany have begun talks on a plan to satisfy U.S. President Donald Trump by putting more pressure on Iran, the spokesman said he has not heard any statements by European officials confirming the report.

“Our relations with Europe are old and developing,” but Iran-Europe relations have always had their foes, who try to drive a wedge between the two sides, he added.

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Jean-Yves Le Drian said he would discuss the latest developments about the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in his trip to the Iranian capital, Tehran.

The French minister added that he would also raise the issue of Iran’s ballistic missile program as well as what he called Iran’s “destabilizing military influence in the Middle East” during his upcoming meetings.

“If Iran wants to return to the concert of nations, it must cooperate on these questions,” said Le Drian, who postponed a trip to Tehran earlier this month.

“Otherwise, it will with reason always be suspected of wanting to develop nuclear weapons,” he claimed, Reuters reported.

Senior Iranian officials have repeatedly said that the country’s missile program is purely defensive, noting that it is not up to France or any other country to make decisions about its ballistic missile program.

On December 4, 2017, Iran advised France to be careful in its views about the Islamic Republic after President Emmanuel Macron called for talks on Tehran’s ballistic missiles.

“French statesmen and other statesmen who speak about Iran’s affairs need to pay attention to the deep developments that have come to pass in the region in past decades and the big changes between the current situation and the past,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.

“They should analyze the issues more carefully in their words and statements because the Islamic Republic of Iran will definitely not negotiate on defensive and missile matters,” he added.

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Le Drian had said in early November that he would travel to Iran to prepare a visit by President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron has been leading a campaign against Tehran’s missile program and regional influence, calling for missile negotiations with Iran or else putting Iran under sanctions.

“Given its position in Europe, France can play an effective role in bringing peace and stability to the region and the world if it avoids being influenced by others in regional issues,” Qassemi said in an exclusive interview with ISNA published on Sunday.

“I believe the French foreign minister’s trip to Iran is a good opportunity for the French side to get familiar with the realities of Iran, its position in the region and the current situation in the region. It is also an opportunity to address their uncertain concerns that are being made on the basis of the propaganda by Iran’s enemies, especially America, Israel and some Arab countries,” the Iranian diplomat added.

Qassemi then said that during Le Drian’s trip, the two sides will discuss different topics like bilateral issues in the field of politics, trade, economy and investment as well as regional issues, fighting terrorism, and establishment of security and stability.

Although it has called for non-nuclear sanctions on Iran, France has opposed to Washington’s calls to undermine the nuclear deal, aka the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), for the role it can play in engaging Iran.

Referring to U.S. hostile policies against Iran in the context of the Iranophobia project, Qassemi said, “American ambassador to UN Nikki Haley’s baseless, irresponsible and inconsiderate claims are neither the first nor the last effort from America against the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

“America’s policies in the region, more than ever have led to the spread of terrorism and creation of insecurity and instability in the region. Of course these kinds of action have driven the United States deeper into isolation,” the spokesman went on to say.

“Iran’s policy in the region is quite clear and transparent. Our attempt in bringing stability and security and fighting terrorism relates to the whole region but unfortunately some governments attempt to negatively address these positive efforts,” he also said.

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