French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Washington featured both the first state dinner of the Trump presidency as well as an address to Congress. Macron arrived with a clearly stated mission: to convince President Donald Trump of the importance of the Iran nuclear deal and U.S. multilateral engagement in the world.
On Tuesday, during a joint press conference with both heads of state, Macron raised the concept of a “new deal” with Iran he had discussed with President Trump.
- “We therefore wish for now to work on a new deal with Iran….We need to cover four topics. The first one is to block any nuclear activity of Iran until 2025. This was feasible thanks to the JCPOA. The second is to make sure that in the long run, there is no nuclear Iranian activity. The third fundamental topic is to be able to put an end to the ballistic activities of Iran in the region. And the fourth one is to generate the conditions for solutions – a political solution to contain Iran in the region, in Yemen, in Syria, in Iraq, and in Lebanon….I therefore would like us to commit to that effect in the weeks and months to come. This is the only way to bring about stability.”
On Syria, Macron seems to have influenced—to some degree—Trump’s view of the necessity of U.S. influence in the country’s future. Trump noted that he and Macron “have discussed the fact that we don't want to give Iran open season to the Mediterranean,” and appeared to backtrack slightly from earlier comments that U.S. troops would be leaving the country as soon as possible.
Below are excerpts from Macron’s Wednesday address to a joint session of Congress:
- On the path ahead: “We must remember the warning of President Theodore Roosevelt: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction…This is an urgent reminder, indeed, because now, going beyond our bilateral ties, beyond our very special relationship, Europe and the United States must face together the global challenges of the century. And we cannot take for granted our history…The 21st century has brought a series of new threats and new challenges that our ancestors might not ever have imagined.”
- On isolationism vs. multilateralism: “We have two possible ways ahead. We can choose isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism. This is an option. It can be tempting to us as a temporary remedy to our fears. But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. It will not douse, but inflame, the fears of our citizens…I’m convinced that if we decide to open our eyes wider, we will be stronger….If we do not act with urgency as a global community, I am convinced that the international institutions, including the United Nations and NATO, will no longer be able to exercise a mandate and stabilizing influence.”
- On Iran: “Iran shall never possess any nuclear weapons—not now, not in five years, not in 10 years, never. This policy should never lead us to war in the Middle East…There is an existing framework called the JCPOA to control the nuclear activity of Iran. We signed it; at the initiative of the United States, we signed it…It is true to say that this agreement may not address all concerns…but we should not abandon it without having something instead.”
General Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and NSA, shared his thoughts on Macron’s visit, adapted for print below:
“I think that this was a remarkable visit and the French president played better here than he is doing in current public opinion polls in France.
“I think he was careful about the Iranian deal, trying to accommodate President Trump‘s concerns, but without committing to ripping up the deal. Macron also knew that German Chancellor Merkel will be here in a few days and she will have strong views on the value of the current deal as well.
“The speech to Congress today was equally remarkable, the French president reminding us of our shared Western heritage, and the need to protect the fragile values on which democracy depends.
“In summary, the visit was an embrace of Trump and a rejection of Trumpism.”
Norm Roule, former National Intelligence Manager for Iran at ODNI:
How in-step is Macron with other European leaders on renegotiating the Iran nuclear deal?
The State Department has vigorously engaged the United Kingdom, France, and Germany for months. There has also been periodic interaction with the European Union, although European Union High Commissioner Federica Mogherini’s discouraging comments on new Iran sanctions suggest this has been less useful. In general, our European partners understand the problems with the JCPOA and the need to address Iran’s malign activities. But they will argue the essence of diplomacy is compromise. It won’t be difficult to identify new sanctions targets on Iran’s missile program and even regional activity, but what remains unclear is whether a process is in place to develop measures of sufficient potency to provoke a debate among Iran’s leadership as to whether this activity is worth the sanctions threat to Iran’s stability.
How do you interpret the conversations between the leaders on Syria, and on Iran more generally?
Macron’s comments show he understands that the absence of a thoughtful policy risks encouraging other dictators to see chemical weapons use as cost free, does nothing to address the Syrian refugee problem, and leaves Iran and its surrogates in a strong position to threat Israel and Jordan. The ISIS fight is not yet complete, and Iran’s efforts to build influence in Syria are a recipe for the sort of sectarianism animosity which will sustain ISIS supporters.
Macron spoke strongly about the dangers of nationalism and isolationism—and the importance of multilateralism and international institutions. What was your take on this, contrasted with President Trump's views?
The Trans-Atlantic Partnership is one of the greatest achievements of the last fifty years. In an increasingly complex world, we need the cooperation, support, and sometimes even the counsel of allies more than ever. It isn’t unreasonable to ask our allies to bear their fair share of costs and to not avoid hard responsibilities (e.g., action against Iran) but we need to be judicious in any pressure campaign against Europe and should recognize the inevitable downsides of isolationism.
Brian Garrett-Glaser is the content manager for The Cipher Brief.
