A French appeals court confirmed Friday that Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco star player Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case, lawyers told The Associated Press.The defender, who is currently playing with Morocco at the World Cup after winning the Champions League for a second straight year with PSG, had appealed a February decision by an investigative judge. That ruling followed recommendations from public prosecutors that Hakimi should face trial.The Versailles appeals court’s decision was released just hours before Morocco takes on Scotland in their Group C match. Morocco drew 1-1 with Brazil in its opening game.Hakimi, one of the best right backs in the world, denies any wrongdoing. He faced preliminary charges of rape in March 2023 after a 24-year-old woman said she was raped by Hakimi at his home in a Paris suburb.Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, said that after more than three years of legal proceedings, "and after being defamed and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi’s defense,” the court's decision "brings my client a sense of relief and hope.""Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have her case heard at trial,” Pardo said in a statement to the AP. "Hope that this trial will help other women and further weaken the fortress of denial and impunity surrounding sexual violence, including within the world of men’s football.”Hakimi claimed in a message posted on X on Friday that his case would have been dismissed if he had not been famous, and that he sometimes feels he has become "an easy target.”"Justice looked me in the eye and told me: ‘If you were not famous, there would never have been a case,’" Hakimi wrote. "I chose to remain silent for years. I believed that staying dignified, being patient, and trusting the justice system would allow the right decisions to be made.”He added that the case has been detrimental not only to him, but also to his family, "and above all, to the truth.”"I have been waiting for this trial since the first day. And I am now waiting for it impatiently,” he added. "Finally, I will be able to speak.”A date for the trial has yet to be announced."The multitude of exculpatory elements uncovered during the investigation and judicial inquiry would, in any other case, have led to the dismissal of the proceedings," Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, told the AP."Achraf Hakimi’s defense regrets that no consequences were drawn from the contradictions and false statements made by the complainant, her concealment of information from the judicial authorities, her obstruction of the search for the truth, and the psychological assessments noting both her ambivalence and her lack of clarity regarding the events she reported.”

PARIS: France wants to play ​a role in talks dealing with Iran's nuclear programme and will ‌not approve the ​lifting of UN sanctions unless it is satisfied by the terms of a final accord, its foreign minister said on Friday.Jean-Noel Barrot, whose country is a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, told broadcaster franceinfo there would be no stability ⁠in the region unless U.S. talks with Iran also dealt with Iran's ballistic missile programme and support for proxies."The return for major concessions that will be asked of Iran is the lifting of ‌sanctions, sanctions that were taken at the United Nations," he said."France is a permanent member of the United Nations (Security Council) so as was ‌the case 10 years ago, France will have to give ‌its approval for the sanctions to be lifted."The agreement ‌reached between the United States ‌and Iran this week calls for negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme to take place over the ​next 60 days, ‌with a final ​deal to be endorsed by the Security ⁠Council.European powers fear an inexperienced U.S. negotiating team may fail to secure a robust nuclear agreement or address Iran’s ballistic missile programme in ​the next ⁠phase, risking a prolonged ⁠standoff.France, Britain and Germany want a role shaping the coming talks after being sidelined in recent months.The three countries first engaged Iran on ⁠its nuclear programme in 2003 and later worked with then-U.S. President Barack Obama to secure a 2015 deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.U.S. President Donald Trump has been disparaging of that accord, which he pulled the U.S. out of ‌during his first presidency."Our objective is to get major concessions from the Iranian regime, a ​radical change in posture. And we will have our word to say, because as a member of the UNSC it will be necessarily linked to the resolution of this crisis," Barrot said.