‘Time is running out': France warns sanctions on Iran are still possible if there's no nuclear deal
Jerome Bonnafont, Permanent Representative of France to the UN, speaking during the United Nations Security Council meeting on June 24. PHOTO: REUTERS
'Time is running out': France warns sanctions on Iran are still possible if there's no nuclear deal
UNITED NATIONS - France and its European partners are still prepared to reactivate sanctions on Iran if an agreement is not reached soon on its nuclear programme, the French ambassador to the UN warned on June 24.
'Time is running out,' said Mr Jerome Bonnnafont at a UN Security Council meeting, in reference to the October expiration of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
'We expect Iran to return to talks without delay in order to achieve a robust, verifiable and lasting diplomatic solution,' he added.
Mr Bonnafont said negotiations were the only way to 'guarantee the impossibility of an Iranian military nuclear programme,' days after the United States conducted strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
'France and its E3 partners (Germany and Britain) remain ready to use the leverage established by Resolution 2231, that of a 'snapback' (of sanctions), if a satisfactory agreement is not reached by summer,' he warned.
UK ambassador Barbara Wood concurred, saying: 'We will use all diplomatic levers at our disposal to support a negotiated outcome, and ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.'
UN Security Council Resolution 2231 endorsed the 2015 agreement Iran reached with the E3 countries, as well as China, Russia and the United States, to regulate its nuclear programme in return for eased sanctions.
President Donald Trump removed the United States from the agreement in 2018. AFP
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