France conveyed to Iran the terms of a US-proposed ceasefire with Israel at the request of Washington in the hours leading up to the truce, a French diplomatic source said Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot to "inform him of the US wish for a ceasefire provided there was no Iranian retaliation," according to the source cited in French news agency AFP, said on Monday night.
"Rubio asked Jean-Noël Barrot to transmit this information to [Foreign Minister] Abbas Araghchi," their Iranian counterpart, the source added.
France says 'spiral of chaos must end' amid fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire
"After the call, the (French) minister spoke to his Iranian counterpart to transmit the terms and details of the discussions (between) Americans and Israelis," according to the same source.
Araghchi then indicated his "availability to continue negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme" including with France, Britain and Germany, and "after these discussions, the ceasefire was able to go into force", it said.
Regional crisis
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned that the situation surrounding the Israel-Iran conflict remains "unstable", reinforcing the view that diplomacy should preside over military might in resolving the Middle East crisis.
Qatar and fellow Gulf state Oman had also both been pushing for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Qatar's prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, persuaded Iran to agree to the US-proposed ceasefire with Israel after Iranian missiles targeted an American base near Doha, a source with knowledge of the talks has said.
World reacts to Israeli strike on Iran over nuclear activity
Israel said on Tuesday it has agreed to US President Donald Trump's declaration of a ceasefire with Iran, adding that it has achieved all its objectives in the 12-day war with its arch-foe.
The war started with a wave of Israeli strikes on Iran on 13 June, just days ahead of a sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman.
(with AFP)
