France Warns of New Sanctions if Missile Talks with Iran Fail

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Foreign Minister, warned the Islamic Republic on Friday that Paris is prepared to impose new sanctions against Tehran if the talks regarding Iran's ballistic missile program yield no results. According to Reuters, Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters, "If the talks are not fruitful, we are ready to impose sanctions decisively, and they know this." France condemned Iran's action of launching a satellite-carrying missile. In this context, diplomats had previously told Reuters that France, the UK, and the European Union are considering imposing new sanctions against Iran. Three diplomats informed Reuters that these sanctions would include freezing assets and travel bans for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran's missile program. While the French Foreign Minister issued this warning, Iranian officials have not yet commented on missile negotiations with European countries and have consistently described the Islamic Republic's missile program as defensive, stating they will not negotiate on it. France has repeatedly called for a halt to Iran's missile programs. Last month, the French Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged Iran to immediately cease all activities related to ballistic missile programs capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Agnes von Mol emphasized that Iran's missile program does not comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2231. On December 1st of this year, the US Secretary of State revealed for the first time that Iran tested a medium-range missile, deeming this action a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. This resolution, issued after the 2015 Vienna nuclear agreement to endorse it, requested Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. However, Iran has stated that its manufactured missiles cannot carry nuclear weapons and therefore its missile activities do not violate UN Security Council Resolution 2231.