France: A Few Weeks Left to Save Iran Deal

Iran sees US has 'contradictory' policies

New French FM Catherine Colonna offered the latest assessment of the stalled process out of the EU, warning that there are “only a few weeks” left to save the deal before the window of opportunity closes.

Iran has long dismissed deadlines as artificial on the talks, saying the deal is more important than the timing. The US has repeatedly said the talks wouldn’t go on much longer, since nearly immediately after they began.

France’s comments are risky, encouraging the US to think they can wait it out and coaxing Iran into making irresponsible concessions while they still can.

The US has been keen to just declare the talks failed lately, and the EU has been trying to salvage the process. This latest comment shows France may be close to giving up.

A few weeks didn’t used to mean much when things were happening quickly, and signs are that they’d be just days from a deal if everyone tried sincerely. After months stalled, it seems doubtful any more serious effort will happen.

Continuing to express frustration with the talks, Iran said US policy is increasingly contradictory, where they want to restore a nuclear deal which involved sanctions relief, but are refusing to lift any sanctions as part of it.

That’s been a recurring problem, with the US believing it can get something without giving anything up a big reason why the talks keep stalling for weeks or even months on end.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.