The French President has been pushing for a revival of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal that was broken by US President Donald Trump last year. Macron has often been the de facto intermediary between Western powers and Tehran, with Iranian officials confirming numerous contacts between the two administrations. G7 leaders – who are in their second day of meetings in Biarritz – have now reportedly appointed Macron as the group’s spokesman, sparking hope of progress between the two sides.
A French presidential source said: “As president of the G7, the president did indeed get the power to discuss and send a message to Iranian authorities on the basis of the exchanges we had last night.”
The source confirmed that Macron has maintained his priority of not allowing Iran any nuclear weapons.
The French President met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Friday with hopes of easing the crisis at the G7 weekend summit.
Proposals were reportedly discussed in his showdown with Trump, with French officials suggesting that Iran be allowed to sell oil in exchange for returning to the negotiating table.
Macron said Wednesday: “We have made proposals either for a softening of sanctions or a compensation mechanism to enable the Iranian people to live better.
“We shall see what the response from the Iranians is in the hours ahead.
“And we shall see how the Americans are ready to move forward.”
In another bold move, Macron met with Putin last week and put the Iran crisis high on the agenda.
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“No one is authorised in any way, shape, or form, to represent us!”
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian responded by hinting at a growing relationship between Macron and Mr Rouhani.
He added: “On Iran, France speaks with complete sovereignty. It is working hard for peace and security in the region, it is working to facilitate a de-escalation in tensions and it needs no permission to do so.
“Macron is, of course, keeping the US authorities informed. All efforts must be brought together to avoid this conflictual situation becoming a dangerous confrontation.”
France, Germany and Britain – three nations who have been especially keen to save the Iran nuclear deal – have set up a special purpose vehicle called Instex, a vehicle for barter-based trade with Iran, in an effort to protect Iran’s economy from US sanctions.
Sources told Al-Monitor that Mr Macron had personally raised the establishment of a $15billion (£12.4 billion) credit line for Instex.
Macron’s assignment comes as the Iran tanker crisis rumbles on.
Tensions rose further between Tehran and Western powers after Iranian officials said the released Grace-1 oil tanker would be heading to Turkey, which has a torn allegiance between the US and Iran ally Russia.
The G7 leaders are officially set to discuss inequality, the climate crisis and ‘digital transformation’ according to the agenda – but Iran is still likely to be high on the agenda for any individual meetings.