Macron: Nuclear negotiations with Iran cannot be separated from Gulf security
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Saudi Arabia’s fears of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon are “legitimate,” noting that “the Iranian nuclear issue cannot be separated from the security of the region.”
Macron said during a press conference in Jeddah, after the end of his visit to Saudi Arabia, that the Kingdom “has legitimate concerns, because of the possibility of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon,” adding: “I say that these fears are legitimate, and we share that.”
The French president considered that Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon “raises not only the concerns of neighboring countries but also the concerns of the entire international community.”
Macron renewed his position calling for the participation of the Gulf States in the negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement with Iran, saying: “The nuclear issue cannot be separated from the issue of regional security, and we cannot progress without involving our friends in the region.”
Macron said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “expressed with his usual frankness” during the talks in Jeddah, “his country’s concerns” about the Iranian nuclear issue, pointing to Saudi Arabia’s efforts to “guarantee peace” in the region.
