U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was welcomed by his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, during which the two top diplomats discussed, among other bilateral issues, the nuclear agreement with Iran and what both countries view as the Islamic republic’s destabilizing activities across the greater Middle East. Following their meeting, the French top diplomat noted that Paris views the nuclear agreement and the ballistic violations by Iran as two distinct issues that should be dealt with separately. The French Foreign Minister said, “I have often exchanged with (U.S. Secretary of State) Rex Tillerson on this question (Iran’s ballistic missile program). There is one fundamental principle on which we are very firm and that is the upholding of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), to the extent that it must be respected. If it is respected by Iran, which is what the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) says and we have no reason not to believe them, then the signatories must be true to their word,” he said. Nevertheless, Foreign Minister le Drian emphasized that France has made it clear to Iran that it views its ballistic missiles program, which has the capacity to carry nuclear war heads, as a grave violation of international understandings, a point of contention with the Islamic Republic that has aligned Paris with Washington’s position. He said “Regarding the ballistic issue, I’ve already had the opportunity to clearly tell (Iranian Foreign Minister) Mr. Zarif that we are very firm on the issue, even if this issue, for us, differs from the strictly nuclear issue. And it was important to have a discussion on this point,” Foreign Minister Le Drian said at a press conference in Paris.