Iran tells France to review ‘unconstructive’ approach ahead of meeting

Iran’s foreign ministry urged Paris to reconsider its “unconstructive” stance, just days before Tehran is scheduled to host a fresh round of nuclear negotiations with major European countries. On Monday, Emmanuel Macron stated that Tehran’s uranium enrichment effort is reaching a point of no return and cautioned that European partners in a dormant 2015 nuclear deal with Iran should consider reimposing sanctions if no progress is made.

“Untrue claims by a government that has itself refused to fulfil its obligations under the nuclear deal and has played a major role in (Israel’s) acquisition of nuclear weapons are deceitful and projective,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on X on Wednesday.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were co-signatories to the 2015 agreement in which Iran promised to limit enrichment, which the West saw as a veiled attempt to acquire nuclear weapons capacity, in exchange for the easing of international sanctions. Iran claims it is enriching uranium for peaceful reasons and has increased its efforts after US President-elect Donald Trump walked out of the 2015 deal during his first term and reinstated heavy US sanctions on Tehran.

French, German, and British officials are scheduled to meet with Iranian counterparts again on January 13, following a meeting in November to examine the potential of real conversations to ease tensions with Tehran in the coming months, when Trump returns to the White House on January 20. Baghaei did not reference French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot’s remarks on three French individuals detained in Iran. On Tuesday, Barrot stated that their release will determine future ties and the removal of sanctions against Iran.