(Bloomberg) -- France’s foreign minister dismissed Donald Trump’s assertion that President Emmanuel Macron was sending “mixed signals” to Iran.
“On Iran, France speaks with total sovereignty,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement on Friday. “France commits strongly to peace and security in the region, and commits to enabling de-escalation. France requires no authorization to do so.”
It was a sharp retort to a pair of tweets issued by the U.S. president on Thursday. “Iran is in serious financial trouble,” Trump said. “They want desperately to talk to the U.S., but are given mixed signals from all of those purporting to represent us, including President Macron of France.”
Trump added, “I know Emmanuel means well, as do all others, but nobody speaks for the United States but the United States itself.”
The exchange underscored the continued strains between the U.S. and European allies who blame Trump for quitting the 2015 accord that relaxed sanctions against Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Other signatories to the nuclear deal, including France, have struggled unsuccessfully to keep the agreement’s promise of economic rewards for Iran in the face of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign.
France also has resisted joining a U.S.-led effort to escort ships in the Persian Gulf region to ward off threats from Iran. The U.K. has initiated its own effort, although in cooperation with the U.S.
Trump’s ire at Macron may have stemmed from a report that he invited Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to meet the U.S. president at a Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, this month. French and American officials later denied there had been any such invitation.
Le Drian made clear in his statement that France’s priority remained preserving the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“The heightened tensions require political initiatives to restore the conditions for dialogue,” he said. “That is what President Macron is doing, in full transparency with our partners and first and foremost with the European JCPOA signatories. He is of course keeping the US authorities informed.”