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French, Iranian Presidents Meet Amid Nuclear Talks Stalemate

by Reuters

   UNITED NATIONS --

   French President Emmanuel Macron held face-to-face talks with his
   Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday with the French
   leader saying he hoped to be able to "discuss all subjects."
   The meeting is Raisi's first head-to-head with a major Western leader
   since he was elected last year.
   It comes amid a complete stalemate to revive the 2015 nuclear talks and
   as protests grow in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who fell
   into a coma and died after her arrest in Tehran last week by the
   morality police for "unsuitable attire."
   France said on Monday that there would not be a better offer for Iran
   to revive a nuclear deal with world powers and it was up to Tehran to
   make a decision now. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who
   coordinates the talks, said he saw little chance of progress at the
   United Nations General Assembly.
   Months of indirect talks between Iran and the United States have
   foundered over several issues, including Tehran's insistence the
   International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) close an investigation into
   uranium traces found at three undeclared sites before the pact is
   revived, and a U.S. guarantee that Washington would not walk out of any
   nuclear agreement again