Trump Denies Macron Tasked with Reducing Iran Tensions

The G7 Summit opened with a bang Sunday at the seaside resort city of Biarritz, with US President Donald Trump denying that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had been tasked with leading efforts to ease tensions with Iran. It comes as Macron was set to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, one of the key architects of the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal from which President Trump withdrew in May of last year. In response to an announcement that Macron would be sending a direct message to Iran, President Trump told reporters: “No, I haven’t discussed that.” Macron was then forced to backtrack on his earlier statement, AP reported. However, Macron said he would address the nuclear pact in the context of what G7 leaders had agreed to during a dinner which he described as “free, intense, extremely long,” according to AP. Earlier, President Trump said that he is not preventing world leaders from speaking with Iran. “If they want to talk, they can talk,” the US president was quoted as saying.