Q. - Good afternoon, Minister. Piotr Smolar from the French newspaper Le Monde.

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And the second question, regarding Iran. There are currently very important discussions between the Trump administration, direct and indirect with the Iranian representatives. For a very long time France was in favor of putting on the table as well with Iran the ballistic issue. That doesn't seem the case at all right now. The Trump administration is basically considering a sort of JCPOA-revisit it, or maybe an interim agreement. So what's your view exactly on the current discussions?

THE MINISTER - Thank you.

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And then on Iran-very important topic that I should have mentioned in response to your first question, Mr. President, because this is a topic on which we've been coordinating with Marco Rubio on day one-from day one.

We are supporting, encouraging the discussion that the US opened with Iran. Why? Because Iran is posing a major threat to our security interests because we, France-Marseilles-are within reach, and because our partners-close partners in the region are also within reach. So we are very serious about this question. But we believe that there is no other route, no other path than a diplomatic path to solve this issue. That there is no military solution to this issue, and that any form of military attempt to solve this issue would have very large costs that we would not like to bear.

So in order for this discussion to be as successful as possible, we've been coordinating with the US on substance and timing. Substance, because our teams have been working over the past few months ahead of the expiration of the JCPOA, of the nuclear agreement that was struck ten years ago and is that is expiring in the fall. So we were getting ready for this expiration. And we have a clear idea of, indeed, what might be a robust and protective deal for us. And this would include, indeed, some of the ballistic components, but also the regional activities, components. And the substance is what is sort of at the disposal of US negotiators, because it's for free and there is no copyright. And I was very transparent with that.

But we also coordinated on timing, because we will not hesitate to reapply all the sanctions that we lifted ten years ago when JCPOA was struck in the case where the IAEA confirms that Iran has violated its obligations under JCPOA, and if it happens that by the summer we don't have a protective-or, a deal that is sufficiently protective of our security interests.