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Macron advocates Saudi, Israeli inclusion in Iran nuclear talks

The United States says it will present a "unified front" with Europe on Iran strategy once consultations with allies conclude.

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures alongside the Israeli President as they address a press conference in Jerusalem on January 22, 2020, - Israel will lobby key leaders at this week's 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on what it considers one of the gravest modern threats to the Jewish people: Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron of France and top US officials before an event at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre in J
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures alongside the Israeli president as they address a press conference in Jerusalem, Jan. 22, 2020. — Jacques Witt/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday again suggested Saudi Arabia and Israel should be involved in renewed international engagement with Iran over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Speaking during a virtual event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, Macron also offered his services as an “honest broker” to renewed talks, as the US administration of President Joe Biden seeks to reengage with Iran over its nuclear capabilities.

“I will do whatever I can to support any initiative from the US side [to reengage in dialogue]," Macron said. “I was here and available two years ago, and 1½ [years] ago, to try to be an honest broker and a committed broker in this dialogue.”

The French president previously led an unsuccessful push to get the Trump administration back into the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The Trump administration unilaterally walked away from the deal in 2018, slapping crippling economic sanctions on Tehran instead in a bid to roll back Tehran’s influence in the region.

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