French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France and other European powers would offer Iran a comprehensive diplomatic solution to end the escalating conflict with Israel.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will meet his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva later in the day “to make a full diplomatic and technical offer for negotiations,” Macron told reporters, adding that France and allies Germany and Britain are “putting a diplomatic solution on the table.”
“Iran must show that it is ready to join the negotiating platform that we are putting on the table,” Macron said on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, outside the French capital.
“It is essential to prioritize a return to substantive negotiations (with Iran) that include nuclear weapons – moving to zero enrichment (of uranium by Iran) – ballistics, limiting Iran’s capabilities and financing all terrorist groups that destabilize the region,” Macron said.
He added that the offer that Barrot and his German and British counterparts will make to Araghchi during the meeting would have four aspects.
The first would foresee the continuation of the work of the UN atomic agency, with “the possibility of going to all places,” so that Iran can move to zero uranium enrichment, Macron said. The second and third aspects would include monitoring Iran’s ballistic missile activities and the way it finances its proxies in the region, he added.
The fourth would be the release of “hostages by Iran,” Macron said, referring to foreigners the Islamic Republic has detained, including two French citizens.
Macron said “no one should underestimate the risk that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose,” adding that the Islamic Republic poses an “existential risk” to Israel.
The French president also criticized the extent of Israel’s military action, which has hit targets other than nuclear and ballistic facilities.
“I believe that strikes that hit civilian or energy facilities and the civilian population must absolutely stop. “Nothing justifies it,” he said.
Macron also warned Israel that military action alone would not be enough to degrade Iran’s nuclear program.
“No one seriously thinks that this risk (represented by Iran’s nuclear facility) can be addressed only by the operations currently underway,” he said.
