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Global Geopolitical Series: Macron’s state visit adds pressure on Trump to remain in JCPOA

French president Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Washington in a state visit to the United States to persuade the U.S. President Donald Trump to remain in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear agreement, which was reached between Iran and six world powers (China, Russia, United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) in 2015. The deal provided sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for clamp down on its nuclear ambition.

President Trump has been a fierce critique of the JCPOA and in October he refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the agreement and in January, when he signed the sanctions waiver on Iran, it was informed that the President, who needs to sign the waiver every 120 days, is signing it for the last time, which gave the concerned parties a 120-day window to re-negotiate the deal or parts of it. All other partners to the agreement have urged President Trump to keep signing the waiver as Iran has threatened to exit the agreement if the United States re-imposes its sanction. The deadline for the next signature in on May 12th.

While in response to Trump’s trade threat, exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), many European leaders distanced themselves from Washington, President Macron has seized the opportunity and has built an amicable relationship with the U.S. President, who remains a controversial figure in international politics. President Macron is now relying on that special bond to convince Trump to sign the waiver as there is no ‘plan B’ to the agreement.

To shore up support for the deal, Macron had even sat down with Fox News interviewer Chris Wallace and said, “For nuclear, what do you have as a better option? I don’t see it………What is your plan B? I don’t have any Plan B for nuclear against Iran.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also weighed in on Monday, saying, “We believe it is extremely important to uphold this agreement………Were it to fail or the US to drop out, we would not have anything comparable to it and we fear that the situation would significantly deteriorate with everything that goes with it.”

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