Military confrontation with Iran may be inevitable, says French FM
Photo: Jean-Noël Barrot, French Foreign Minister (Getty Images)
World powers must quickly reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. Otherwise, military confrontation could become almost inevitable, stated French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, according to Reuters.
"The window of opportunity is narrow. We only have a few months until the expiration of this (2015 - ed.) accord. In case of failure, a military confrontation would seem to be almost inevitable," Barrot said during a parliamentary hearing.
Reuters notes that European countries aim to reach a diplomatic agreement to limit Iran's uranium enrichment by October 2025, when UN sanctions related to the 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear programme with world powers expire.
Western nations believe Iran's nuclear program is a covert attempt to develop an atomic bomb, though Tehran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons.
Diplomatic sources told Reuters that the foreign ministers of France, the UK, and Germany - participants in the 2015 agreement - hope to discuss Iran with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio when they meet in Brussels for a NATO ministerial meeting this week.
Iran has significantly exceeded the uranium enrichment limits set by the 2015 deal. In response, European nations are increasing pressure on Tehran to bring it back to the negotiating table. They have held several rounds of talks with Iran, including technical-level discussions last week, in an attempt to lay the groundwork for further negotiations.
Trump's threats
In early March, US President Donald Trump admitted that his country could sign a new nuclear deal with Iran in the near future.
The US leader threatened that if this did not happen, he would use something else that would solve the problem.
