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PARIS. – The fate of the Iran nuclear deal tops the agenda as French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the US yesterday for the first official state visit hosted by President Donald Trump. Buoyed by a much-vaunted personal friendship with Trump cultivated over Eiffel Tower dinners and jointly viewing military marches, Macron yesterday flew into Washington DC at the start of a three-day visit that will include a joint meeting of the US Congress and a state dinner at Mount Vernon, the home of US founding father, George Washing- ton.

But while Macron has carefully cultivated what the press has called a “bromance” with Trump, the friendship is set to be tested over the thorny issue of the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed by the US, Iran, France, China, Russia, the UK, Germany and the EU in 2015.

Trump has set a May 12 deadline for the Europeans to “fix” the agreement that curbs Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, failing which, he has threatened to walk away from the landmark deal.

But in an interview with US TV station Fox News on the eve of his departure for Washington, Macron stressed, once again, that there was no “Plan B” alternative for the Iran deal, which is officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The visit comes weeks after the US, France and Britain launched joint military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s chemical weapons installations in Syria after an alleged poison gas attack in Douma in Eastern Ghouta. – France24/AP/AFP/ Reuters.