Macron: France and the US are determined to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, emphasized during a press conference with Joe Biden, the President of the United States, at the Élysée Palace on Saturday, June 9, that Paris and Washington are determined to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic to counter its actions. The French President stated, 'Regarding Iran, we continue to witness a comprehensive escalation strategy [from this country], which includes unprecedented attacks against Israel, destabilizing movements in the region, and of course, Iran's nuclear program.' Macron added, 'Both our countries are determined to exert pressure to counter this trend.' He noted that such determination was well displayed during the drafting and approval of the resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The French President referred to the IAEA Board of Governors' resolution against Iran last Wednesday, which called on the Islamic Republic to 'immediately' respond to questions from IAEA inspectors regarding the origin of uranium particles discovered at its undeclared sites. The resolution stated that the presence of experienced IAEA inspectors in inspections of Iran's nuclear activities is 'vital' and demanded that Iran lift its ban on these inspectors. In this context, Reuters reported on Thursday that three European countries that are parties to the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA detailed Iran's violations of the agreement in a letter to the UN Security Council. According to a diplomat cited by Reuters, the letter to the Security Council was aimed at pressuring Iran to resolve the nuclear dispute diplomatically and avoid the re-imposition of UN sanctions. The report indicated that these three European countries did not explicitly threaten to implement the 'snapback' mechanism in their letter, but they referred to the expiration date of Resolution 2231 in October 2025. This mechanism allows for the immediate reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran before October 2025. The letter from the three European countries outlined Iran's deviations from the nuclear agreement. The diplomat mentioned that this action was intended to pressure Iran to diplomatically resolve the nuclear dispute and avoid the re-imposition of UN sanctions.