Al-Monitor | Laura Rozen: Even though the Iranian and US presidents did not meet or share a phone call during the UN General Assembly meetings in New York last month, the French say that important progress has been made on a substantive framework for possible talks, and it is largely a matter of sequencing — and overcoming mistrust — to see if the parties can get to the table.

“The conditions to start those discussions were there,” a French diplomat, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. “One key issue is sequencing though, and there is probably a problem of trust.”

“I think … that the conditions have been created for a swift resumption of the negotiations,” French President Emmanuel Macron told journalists at a press conference in New York Sept. 24, after noting that he had held multiple discussions with Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani over the previous days and identified four points to serve as a framework for negotiations.

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