Reuters: Iranian Government Urges France to Reconsider Its 'Unconstructive' Approach

Reuters reported that a few days before Tehran holds a new round of negotiations regarding its nuclear program with major European countries, the Iranian Foreign Ministry urged Paris to reconsider its 'unconstructive' approach. Emmanuel Macron stated on Monday that Tehran's uranium enrichment activities have approached a point of no return and warned that European partners in the expiring nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran should consider reapplying sanctions if there is no progress in negotiations. The French President added that world leaders must ask themselves what mechanism will be established to restore sanctions against the Iranian government before October of this year. October 18 of this year (October 26, 1404 in the Persian calendar) will mark the expiration of the 'snapback mechanism,' which is the leverage for Western powers to quickly reinstate sanctions against the Iranian government. Donald Trump's transition team, the elected President of the United States, told the Persian section of Voice of America on Friday, December 23, that all options for addressing the Iranian government's nuclear program, including maximum pressure, are on the table. Ismail Baqaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, wrote on Wednesday on the filtered X network in Iran: 'The unrealistic claims of a government that has itself refused to fulfill its obligations under the nuclear agreement and played a significant role in (Israel's) acquisition of nuclear weapons are deceptive and theatrical.' France, Germany, and Britain were joint signatories of the 2015 agreement in which the Iranian government agreed to limit enrichment, which the West viewed as a covert attempt to develop nuclear weapons capabilities in exchange for lifting international sanctions. The Islamic Republic of Iran claims it enriches uranium for 'peaceful' purposes and has increased this program since Donald Trump, the elected President of the United States, withdrew Washington from the 2015 agreement during his first term and reinstated strict U.S. sanctions against Tehran. French, German, and British diplomats are scheduled to meet on January 13 (24 Dey) after a meeting in November with their Iranian counterparts to discuss the possibility of serious negotiations in the coming months to reduce tensions with Tehran, while Trump is set to return to the White House on January 20. Baqaei did not refer to the statements of Jean-Noël Barot, the French Foreign Minister, regarding three French citizens detained in Iran, referred to by French officials as 'hostages' of the Iranian government. Barot stated on Tuesday that future relations and any lifting of sanctions against Iran depend on their release. France deemed the conditions of its three prisoners in Iran as inhumane and degrading and urged its citizens not to travel to Iran until the 'freedom of hostages' is secured. Macron: The Iranian government is the most significant security challenge in the Middle East and Europe. The Islamic Republic has expressed readiness for 'nuclear negotiations' and the lifting of sanctions.