(Bloomberg) -- French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire met with U.S. authorities in Washington Tuesday as part of push from Paris to rescue the Iran nuclear accord.
The scheduled talks were officially about a French digital tax which has riled President Donald Trump, but they’ve been extended to look at ways that Iran could receive waivers from U.S. sanctions, French officials said.
Le Maire’s U.S. visit is part of a flurry of talks aimed at rescuing the 2015 nuclear deal after a series of maritime confrontations that have threatened shipping near Iranian waters. Iran’s top envoy Mohammad Javad Zarif met with counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow Monday while his deputy Abbas Araghchi went to Paris with a team of economists and central bank officials.
Araghchi discussed a French proposal for a $15 billion letter-of-credit to help restore Iran’s oil exports, the backbone of its economy, according to Iranian press and officials. French official wouldn’t confirm the size or details of the letter of credit.
Le Maire met his U.S. counterpart Steven Mnuchin and tweeted afterwards that he had constructive talks about the digital tax, without mentioning Iran. He’s due to later meet with Trump’s economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow, and chief U.S. trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer. According to a French official, Le Maire discussed waivers for companies that would allow Iran to sell oil, with China, India and Japan being the expected clients.
Araghchi’s talks in Paris lasted 10 hours, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported, without giving details. It was Araghchi’s second trip to the French capital in less than six weeks, continuing the most substantive negotiations between Iran and a western power since U.S. President Donald Trump exited the nuclear accord last year and slapped a slew of crippling sanctions on Iranian oil and other sectors.
