French President Encouraged to Get Involved in Altering Iranian Nuclear Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu played the role of messenger for US President Donald Trump when he cajoled French President Emmanuel Macron to step up and lead the effort to “fix” the Iranian nuclear agreement. Not coincidentally, the Netanyahu telephone call to Paris came the day after President Trump laid the gauntlet at the feet of the Europeans, demanding that they get the deal “fixed” or he would pull the United States out of the mix. In Tehran, Iranian leaders warned that no course corrections would be considered. According to news agencies, Netanyahu used his conversation with Macron to admonish the French president to take President Trump’s warning seriously. On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his government will not help to change the agreement – a presage of what President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are likely to encounter as what will doubtless be a uniform response. Lavrov said the Iranians can’t be held to their obligations if you’re not going to do the same with the North Koreans.