France's top diplomat spoke with his Iranian counterpart Saturday and urged Iran to be "constructive" and avoid further nuclear escalation ahead of talks next week aimed at trying to salvage a global accord curbing the Iranian nuclear program.
Diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran will take part in Tuesday's EU-brokered talks in Vienna. Those six countries have remained in the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which bound Iran to nuclear restrictions in return for relief from U.S. and international sanctions.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif to prepare for the talks. "I encouraged Iran to be constructive," Le Drian said in a statement. "I called on Iran to abstain from any further violation of its current commitments in the nuclear domain that could threaten the movement toward resumed discussions."