France’s Macron Blames Iran for US’s Failure to Revive Nuclear Deal

Macron slammed Iran in meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed Iran on Thursday in comments alongside Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Macron blamed the Islamic Republic for violating the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, despite the fact that it is the US that violated the agreement.

“Iran must stop aggravating a serious nuclear situation with an accumulation of violations of the Vienna accord (the JCPOA),” Macron said. Since the US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 by reimposing sanctions, Iran is not bound by the limits set by the agreement. So recent moves to increase uranium enrichment are technically not violations.

“Iran must make the expected gestures and behave in a responsible way,” Macron said. The French president also called for a stricter agreement that covers Iran’s ballistic missile program. “That means a return to control and supervision of the nuclear program, but also to integrating — as we have called for since 2017 — the control of Iran’s ballistic missile activity.”

Macron claims that he wants to preserve the JCPOA and has even floated himself as a possible broker for talks between the US and Iran. But comments like this show the bias Paris has in favor of Washington. The US has the ability to revive the deal by lifting sanctions on Iran, which it could do at any time. But so far, the Biden administration is refusing to do so and is demanding talks with Tehran.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.