Macron's aide to visit Tehran: FM spokesman
French president's aide Emmanuel Bonne will visit Tehran in the coming days, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.
The diplomatic aide of the French President Emanuel Macron will most probably will come to Tehran, Abbas Mousavi told reporters, adding that Iran will have some bilateral, regional and international contacts and diplomatic communications in the next days, including the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit.
Commenting on the stances of Russia and China on the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the spokesman said, "Iran is not relying on any country, neither friendly ones such as Russia and China, nor the European countries. What is important is their commitment to their obligations under the deal. Russia and China are both signatories to the JCPOA, and the letter by the President Rouhani to the heads of the nuclear deal parties, included the two countries too."
Iran will not play into the hands of others either, he said affirming that the country "will decide independently only on the basis of its national interests and security".
Commenting on the fate of the two Iranian tankers, the spokesman said, "The tanker which is in Saudi Arabia had asked for help because of a technical defect."
Iran's Foreign Ministry is following the case, he said, adding that the political, diplomatic and legal efforts on the other supertanker that was carrying Iran's crude and seized by UK in Gibraltar are also underway.
We have summoned British ambassador twice. We have discussed the issue with some other European diplomats, and all the required documents by have been presented to those who are following the case.
"We urge the UK government to release the tanker as we cannot accept the piracy that will only add to the tensions," he said.
UK seized the Iranian supertanker on Thursday, claiming that the act was in line with the EU sanctions on Syria. Iran rejects the claim that the tanker was heading to Syria.
Expressing unawareness about the destination, the spokesman said it certainly was not Syria as the country does not have any port suitable for docking a supertanker.
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