France’s Macron says Iran’s nuclear program near ‘point of no return’ Politics News
The French President says Paris will hold talks with the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump on the ‘Iranian question’.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called Iran the main “strategic and security challenge” for Europeans in the Middle East, expressing concern over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Speaking to French ambassadors deployed around the world on Monday, the French president also criticized Iran for supporting “dangerous groups” in the Middle East and Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.
“The acceleration of the nuclear program brings us closer to the point of no return,” Macron said.
France is a party to the 2015 nuclear deal, under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against its economy – an agreement that was revoked by the United States in 2018.
After withdrawing from the agreement, the US reimposed sanctions on the Iranian economy and imposed more penalties.
In response, Iran began enriching uranium at higher levels, reducing the time taken to acquire material for a nuclear weapon from months to weeks.
Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons. But the country and its allies – including Lebanon’s Hezbollah – have been dealt a painful blow by Israel in recent months, raising concerns that Tehran might push for a nuclear bomb to restore regional deterrence.
Tension between Iran and Western countries may increase further when former US President Donald Trump returns to the White House later this month.
During his first term, 2017–2021, Trump withdrew the US from the nuclear deal and launched a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
He also ordered the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020, bringing the two countries to the brink of all-out war.
Presenting himself as an anti-war politician, Trump has appointed several foreign policy experts who favor regime change in Iran to key positions in his incoming Cabinet.
On Monday, Macron said France would hold talks with the new US administration on “the Iranian question”.
The French president also addressed the war in Ukraine, saying the US should help “persuade Russia to come to the negotiating table”.
He warned that “surrender by Ukraine cannot be good for Europeans and Americans”, adding that Western countries’ credibility would be “broken” if they agreed to compromise on Ukraine due to “fatigue”.
The US and its Western allies have provided billions of dollars in military and monetary aid to Ukraine since Russia launched an invasion of the country in 2022.
Nevertheless, Macron said Ukrainians needed “realistic discussion on regional issues”.
Ukraine has said it will fight to reclaim all Russian-held territories, including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
