The French president said Paris would consult with US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration on the ‘Iran issue’.
French President Emmanuel Macron has raised concerns about Tehran’s nuclear program, calling Iran a major “strategic and security challenge” for Europeans in the Middle East.
The French president met Monday with his ambassadors around the world and criticized Iran for supporting “dangerous groups” across the Middle East and supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
“The acceleration of our nuclear program has brought us closer to the point of no return,” President Macron said.
France is a party to the 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran curbs its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions on its economy. The agreement was abandoned by the United States in 2018.
After withdrawing from the agreement, the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran’s economy and imposed additional sanctions.
In response, Iran began enriching uranium at higher levels, shortening the time needed to acquire nuclear weapons material from months to weeks.
Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons. But Lebanon’s allies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, have suffered painful blows by Israel in recent months, raising concerns that Tehran may pursue a nuclear bomb to restore regional deterrence.
Tensions between Iran and the West could escalate further as former US President Donald Trump returns to the White House later this month.
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal and launched a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
He also ordered the assassination of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020, bringing the two countries to the brink of all-out war.
Describing himself as an anti-war politician, Trump has appointed several foreign policy hardliners who favor regime change in Iran to key positions in his incoming Cabinet.
On Monday, President Macron said France would cooperate with the new US administration on the “Iran issue.”
The French president also spoke about the war in Ukraine and said the United States should help persuade Russia to come to the negotiating table.
He warned that “Ukraine’s surrender cannot be good for Europeans and Americans” and that Western countries’ credibility would be “shattered” if they agreed to compromise on Ukraine out of “fatigue”.
The United States and its Western allies have provided tens of billions of dollars in military and financial aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Nonetheless, Macron said Ukrainians needed to have “realistic discussions on the territorial issue.”
Ukraine says it will fight to regain all territory occupied by Russia, including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
