Iran sent stern warning over nuclear ambitions as France’s Macron vows to stop escalation

Paris, London and Berlin declared Iran in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal last week and triggered a dispute mechanism that could see the re-imposition of tough sanctions. “France will be inflexible about Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” M Macron said. “In the current context, France is determined that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon but also that we avoid all military escalation in the region.”

The 42-year-old centrist’s two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories was scheduled to coincide with the 75-year anniversary of the Auschwitz death camp.

He started his visit with a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem, where the two discussed Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security issues from Libya to Turkey, according to the Israeli leader’s office.

Mr Netanyahu urged M Macron to exert pressure on Tehran over what he called its aggression in the region, his office added.

France, along with Britain and Germany, jointly declared Iran in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal last week and launched a controversial dispute resolution mechanism that could see the matter referred back to the Security Council and the re-imposition of UN sanctions.

This is the boldest step they have taken so far to force Iran to stick to the terms of a deal under which it was offered sanctions relief in return for curbing its nuclear work.

But US President Donald Trump pushed the deal to the brink of collapse when he re-imposed sanctions on Tehran after pulling out of the pact in May 2018.

In reaction to Washington’s exit and the return of crippling economic sanctions, Iran has gradually rolled back its commitments.

The Iranian government announced on January 6 it would scrap all limits on enriching uranium, saying the Europeans had failed to ensure it still received the economic benefits promised in the pact following the US withdrawal.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, however, insisted on Wednesday that Iran remained committed to the agreement and could reverse its actions away from full compliance if the other parties fulfilled their obligations.

Responding to M Macron’s remarks, he said Iran would never seek nuclear weapons – with or without a deal in place.

“We have never sought nuclear weapons. With or without the nuclear deal we will never seek nuclear weapons … The European powers will be responsible for the consequences of violating the pact,” he said, according to his website President.Ir.

The nuclear dispute has been at the heart of an escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran which blew up into an all-out military confrontation in recent weeks.

source: express.co.uk