Macron's second day visiting Trump: French president proposes 'new' Iran nuclear deal in gamble to keep USA on board, as it happened

Mr Trump and Mr Macron are negotiating all day on a range of issues including nuclear proliferation, climate change, and trade

President Macron arrives at the White House for Trump meeting

Donald Trump has given his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron a red carpet welcome at the White House.

The US president and first lady greeted Mr Macron and his wife, Brigitte, in a ceremonial welcome Tuesday morning which saw nearly 500 US service-members from all five military branches participate in a ”Review of the Troops”.

The two leaders later held a joint press conference in which they announced progress on a range of issues, including the potential that they could begin negotiating a "new" Iran nuclear deal that would leave the current one largely in-tact.

Mr Macron is on a three-day official state visit to the US, the first in Mr Trump’s presidency.

On Monday, the presidents took a helicopter tour of Washington monuments and then went on a trip to the Potamic River home of George Washington for dinner.

Aside from the pomp and ceremony, Mr Trump and Mr Macron agree on some fundamental issues.

One main point of contention is the multinational nuclear deal aimed at restricting Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, which Mr Trump wants to abandon.

Mr Trump ended his first year in office without receiving a foreign leader on a state visit, making him the first president in nearly 100 years to fail to do so.

Last July, he was Mr Macron’s guest at the annual Bastille Day military parade in the centre of Paris.

Key Points

• Mr Macron said that he is willing to negotiate a 'new' Iran nuclear deal that builds on the current base — Mr Trump signalled that he may be open to the idea
• Mr Trump repeatedly called the Iran nuclear deal a disaster while visiting with Mr Macron, and said the country is behind a lot of the world's troubles
• While bragging about the warm relationship he has with Mr Macron, took the opportunity to brush what he said was 'dandruff' off of the French president's shoulder

[24 April 2018 18:13 · Andrew Buncombe]

French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters that he believes trade between the United States and France is equal during his first official visit to the White House since becoming president.

"When you look at the trade issues between our two countries, they are balanced. There is no unfair trade there," Mr Macron said.

The US had a $65 billion trade deficit with France in 2013, with $471 billion in exports to the country compared to $535 billion of imports, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

[24 April 2018 18:15 · Andrew Buncombe]

French President Emmanuel Macron framed the Iran nuclear deal as one of national security for both his country and the US during a press conference at the White House.

"We will see new terrorist groups in the region, for sure" if Iran is not part of holistic, political solution to Middle East, Mr Macron said.

[24 April 2018 18:20 · Andrew Buncombe]

During a joint press conference with President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron signaled that he is open to a new Iran deal if it helps to keep the US on board.

"I would like us to have a new deal with the four pillars that already exist," Mr Macron said.

[24 April 2018 18:24 · Andrew Buncombe]

President Donald Trump said that the US is protecting its Middle East allies during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, but that those allies need to help with the costs.

"We are protecting them and they have to step up and pay for what is happening," Mr Trump said. "They are going to have to pay for this and they will pay for it. The US will not continue to pay."

[24 April 2018 18:37 · Andrew Buncombe]

President Donald Trump left his plans for the Iran nuclear deal ambiguous when discussing the issue with reporters during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"There is a chance, but no one knows what I am going to do on the 12th [May]," Mr Trump said, before turning to Mr Macron and saying: "Though you have a good idea of what I'm going to do."

[24 April 2018 19:00 · Samuel Osborne]

[24 April 2018 19:25 · Samuel Osborne]

[24 April 2018 19:44 · Kristin Hugo]

The next planned event the White House has announced is this evening, when President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host the Macrons for a state dinner at the White House.

[24 April 2018 20:07 · Kristin Hugo]

French President Emmanuel Macron said during a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump that he would be open to negotiating a "new" Iran deal that builds on the progress already made in a diplomatic gamble to keep the American leader on board.

Here's our story:

[24 April 2018 22:05 · Kristin Hugo]

To put French President Emmanuel Macron's statement that he would be open to negotiating a "new" Iran deal — after meetings with President Donald Trump to discuss the subject — into context, it is worth noting that he said as recently as Sunday that there is "no plan B" to handle the issue.

Mr Trump has frequently said he thinks it was a bad deal, and has called on his European counterparts to come up with a solution to the problems he sees in it. The American president did not indicate that he had made a decision either way as to whether he would reimplement sanctions on Iran in May.

He has identified at least three defects: He says it doesn't adequately address Iran's ballistic missile programme, that international inspectors have inadequate access to Iran's nuclear facilities, and that he is not a fan of "sunset" provisions in the deal that let some of the components of the deal expire as soon as 10 years out.