French President Emmanuel Macron stood before a joint session of Congress to argue that the U.S. should remain a part of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate accord.
Macron said that France’s objective for Iran is clear — “Iran shall never possess any nuclear weapons. Not now, not in 5 years not in 10 years, not ever.”
He added, “It is true to say this agreement may not address all concerns and every important concerns, this is true, but we should not abandon it without having something substantial and more substantial instead.” Macron again suggested a new deal that France and the U.S. can write together to address existing concerns.
“France will not leave JCPOA because we signed it,” said Macron, using the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “But what I want to do and what we decided together with your president is that we can work on a more comprehensive deal addressing all these concerns.”
Macron laid out the four pillars he addressed during Tuesday’s joint press conference that would be the basis for the deal, including the “substance of the existing agreement, the post-2025 period, the containment of the military influence of the Iranian regime in the region and the monitoring of ballistic activity.”
“I think we have to start working now on these four pillars to build a new comprehensive deal and ensure whatever the U.S. decision will be, we will not leave the floor to the absence of rule,” added Macron.
Turning to the environment, Macron placed the responsibility on lawmakers to ensure leaving children a planet that will still be here in 25 years. His comments drew immediate cheers from Democrats.
As he has said, there is no “Plan B” the Iran deal, and on the issue of climate change, Macron told the House chamber, “Let us face it, there is no Planet B” in pushing for a stronger approach to addressing the impacts of climate change.
“I am sure one day the U.S. will come back and rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement,” Macron suggested, to loud cheers from Democrats in the chamber. He referred to the U.S.’ pullout of the pact as a short-term “family disagreement.”
Macron said France and the U.S. will have to work together to “make this planet great again.”
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