"Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Paris on Tuesday for consultations at the request of the Iranian President Rouhani after his phone conversation last Thursday with the President of the Republic [Emmanuel Macron]. ... He was received by the presidential administration, where he was able to convey a message from President Rouhani [to Macron]," the statement says.
Araghchi was received by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and was able to negotiate possible options for de-escalation in the Strait of Hormuz with his French counterpart.
"The consultations allowed to remind to the Iranian president's envoy that we expected Iran to return as soon as possible to its obligations under the Vienna agreement and the necessary steps to start the necessary de-escalation," the ministry added.
The visit was made amid tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, which escalated on Friday when the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the UK oil tanker Stena Impero over what it described as a breach of international maritime regulations. France along with the United Kingdom, Germany and some other countries has condemned the tanker’s seizure.
