France ‘shares’ war on terror with Iran

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said that his country shares the war on “terrorism” and “extremism” with Iran, in the Middle East and around the world. Fabius made his comments at a joint news conference in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. There are common concerns shared by France and Iran, said the French official. He stressed France’s desire to develop economic relations with Tehran.

Insisting that Iran is an influential state in the region for the war on terror, Fabius described the nuclear agreement between the P5plus1 countries (the US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) and Iran in mid-July as “historic”, saying that Paris and Tehran can expand their relations in various fields.

The French minister expressed France’s desire to send its largest companies to work in the Iranian market. This is being eyed by Western countries which want to take advantage of the gradual lifting of sanctions thanks to the nuclear deal.

The remarks by Fabius echo earlier statements by US officials regarding cooperation with Iran in the fight against terrorism, and reflect a change in the attitude of Western countries which had previously accused the government in Tehran of involvement in terror activities. However, these countries are now open to cooperation with Iran, especially against ISIS. Some Western countries even intend to reopen their embassies in Tehran in the coming months.

Foreign Minister Zarif said that Iran and France agree on the fight against terror and also talked about possible regional cooperation in this regard. A few days ago, during his visit to Kuwait, he invited the Gulf countries to cooperate with his country in the war on terror.

The Iranian official added that Tehran and Paris are looking forward to nuclear cooperation in the future.