Macron Says France Won't Change Its Stance on Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

Tehran has stated that its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency will be reviewed after the EU nations announced earlier in the month that they would initiate a dispute resolution mechanism under the Iranian nuclear deal.

Following the meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, France's President Emmanuel Macron stated that Paris won't change its stance on Iran's nuclear ambitions, adding that France is determined Tehran will never acquire nuclear weapons.

"In the current context, France is determined that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, but also that we avoid all military escalation in the region," Macron said.

At the same time, Netanyahu has called on France to introduce sanctions against Iran over the latter's move to continue enriching uranium.

Macron arrived in Israel for a two-day visit ahead of commemorations marking 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz extermination camp.

Last week, France, the UK, and Germany - signatories to the JCPOA nuclear deal, confirmed that they had initiated a dispute mechanism that could see the sanctions against Iran reinstated. The move comes amid Iran's gradual scale-back on its commitments under the deal, prompted by the US unilateral withdrawal from it in 2018.

Tehran condemned the decision that was made amid reports that US President Donald Trump threatened the European nations with slamming car tariffs for the lack of action against Tehran.