Speaking after a high-level meeting on Iran chaired by President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the “window of opportunity” for diplomacy was narrow with Tehran, Al Jazeera reported.
European powers are seeking to create a diplomatic path to reach an agreement to curb Iran’s uranium enrichment activity by the middle of the year and in advance of an October 2025 deadline, when UN sanctions related to a 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear program with the world powers expire.
This is while that Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that the country does not seek nuclear weapons, emphasizing that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful.
“The window of opportunity is narrow. We only have a few months until the expiration of this (2015) accord. In the event of failure, a military confrontation would seem to be almost inevitable,” Barrot told parliament.
“Our confidence and our conviction remain intact,” Barrot said. “Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.”
He stressed that France’s priority is securing a “verifiable and durable” agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear activities.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which provided sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear restrictions, collapsed after US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed crippling economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
MNA