French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone Tuesday with Donald Trump, just hours before the US president is widely expected to pull out of a key nuclear deal with Iran, his office said.

In a terse statement, the Elysee Palace said only that the two men "discussed matters relating to peace and stability in the Middle East," with no specific mention of Iran.

Macron has positioned himself as the emissary for European officials seeking a compromise that would keep the deal intact, after months of warnings by Trump that it fails to guarantee Tehran won't eventually build a nuclear weapon.

He had hoped to successfully argue his case during a state visit to Washington last month, but later made no secret that he believed Trump had already made up his mind to scrap the Obama-era accord.

Their discussion Tuesday came as Britain, Germany, France and a senior EU official met Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Brussels and "used this opportunity to reiterate their support to the continued full and effective implementation of the (deal) by all sides", the bloc said in a statement.

Trump said on Twitter that he would announce his decision at 1800 GMT, in what could be his most consequential foreign policy move yet.

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No Trump request for Korea troop cut options: Bolton
Washington (AFP) May 4, 2018
President Donald Trump has not asked for options for reducing US forces in South Korea, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said Friday, denying a report to the contrary as "utter nonsense." His statement came in response to a story by The New York Times that the president has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down the 28,500-strong US force. "The New York Times story is utter nonsense," Bolton said. "The president has not asked the Pentagon to provide options for reducing ... read more