France: Iran’s Nuclear Program Reaching ‘Point Of No Return’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TEHRAN/PARIS (Worthy News) – France has warned that Iran’s uranium enrichment drive is nearing “a point of no return” in a development that could put more pressure on the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump.
In a statement monitored by Worthy News on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “European partners” who signed up for a 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic should consider reimposing sanctions if Tehran does not progress.
Addressing an annual conference with French ambassadors to outline foreign policy objectives this year, President Emmanuel Macron described Iran as the main “strategic and security challenge” for France and Europe.
“The acceleration of the nuclear program leads us nearly to the point of no return,” Macron told the ambassadors, suggesting Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons.
Tehran has denied wrongdoing, saying it is enriching uranium “for peaceful purposes,” but Israel and the United States have been among the most vocal countries expressing doubts.
U.S. President-elect Trump pulled Washington out of the 2015 deal during his first term in office and restored tough U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
Indications that Iran is increasing its activities toward developing a nuclear bomb were expected to further toughen Trump’s response toward Iran after his inauguration as America’s 47th president on January 20.
European powers France, Germany, and Britain said last month Iran’s actions had further undermined the nuclear deal.
The deal included easing sanctions in exchange for Iran committing to limit its nuclear program to peaceful purposes and allowing inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Macron suggested that Tehran would heighten its stockpile of high-enriched uranium without a “credible civilian justification.”
The head of the IAEA said in December that the Islamic Republic was “dramatically” accelerating enrichment close to the roughly 90 percent level that is bomb-grade, Worthy News reported earlier.
French, German, and British diplomats are set to hold a follow-up meeting with Iranian counterparts on January 13 after one last month held to discuss the possibility of “serious negotiations.”
European diplomats say they are still trying to defuse tensions with Tehran ahead of Trump’s return to the White House later this month.
“In the coming months, we will have to ask ourselves whether to use … the mechanism to restore sanctions,” Macron added, referring to October 2025 when the 2015 accord formally expires.
Macron said Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for Russia also posed threats to Europe. He suggested this would become one of the main dossiers to be addressed in diplomacy with Trump after he took office.
However, Tehran is under pressure to halt its nuclear program after the country and its allies – including Lebanon’s Hezbollah – were dealt painful blows by Israel in recent months with attacks, according to a Worthy News assessment.
At the same time, the country’s Islamic rulers have faced mounting protests and social upheaval, with crowds demanding more rights and economic prosperity in a nation suffering under severe sanctions.
Yet Iran watchers raised concerns that Tehran may make a push for a nuclear bomb to restore regional deterrence as it has become increasingly isolated following Israeli attacks against its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah.
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