FRANCE/G7/IRAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Thursday [8-8-19] accused French President Emmanuel Macron of sending ‘mixed signals’ to Iran amid an apparent diplomatic breakdown between Washington and Tehran…The president’s posts follow reports that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has shared several phone conversations with Macron in recent weeks seeking to tamp down tensions with the U.S. A French diplomat on Wednesday [8-7-19] denied a report that Rouhani had declined a proposal from Macron to meet Trump at the G-7 summit in France later this month, emphasizing that Rouhani had not been invited to the forum of world leaders. The U.S. imposed sanctions last week on Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the latest in a series of economic penalties Trump’s administration has leveled against Iran since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 multinational nuclear deal last year. The pact’s European partners — France, Germany and the United Kingdom — have sought to salvage the agreement as Iran has steadily stepped away from its provisions.”
–Quint Forgey, “Trump swats at Macron for Iran diplomacy,” Politico, August 8, 2019 2:49 pm