Macron warns of Iran’s nuclear ‘consequences’



French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday denounced the “reckless rush” of Iran’s nuclear program after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Paris, to push for a tougher European stance on Tehran.

In a statement released after lunch at the Elysee Palace, Macron warned that Tehran’s continuation of the nuclear project “will inevitably have consequences.”

The two leaders discussed ways to counter the “Iranian nuclear threat” and Netanyahu stressed the need to strengthen “deterrence against Iran and its proxies in the Middle East,” the Israeli embassy said in a statement.

Israel has long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists that its nuclear program is purely for power generation.

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Netanyahu hopes that Iran’s role in supplying drones to the Russian occupiers in Ukraine, as well as its crackdown on protests in the country, will prompt Western allies to abandon any attempt to restart the 2015 nuclear deal.

The prime minister also said that Israel is considering sending military aid to Ukraine, apparently abandoning its more neutral stance on the conflict in hopes of securing a more confrontational Western stance towards Tehran.

– “Playing the card of Ukraine” –

“By playing the Ukraine card,” Netanyahu hopes to “strengthen the anti-Iranian front” with the West, said David Khalfa of the Paris think tank Fondation Jean Jaures.

He hopes to “strengthen sanctions against Iran and fully add the Revolutionary Guard to the list” of organizations subject to sanctions, a move so far resisted by France and Germany, Halfa added.

During a meeting with Macron, Netanyahu called for “substantial sanctions against the Iranian regime and called for the Revolutionary Guards to be added to the European Union’s terrorist list,” the Israeli embassy said in a statement.

France agrees that “firmness” is needed in relations with Iran, a diplomatic source told AFP earlier, saying the nuclear program had reached a “danger point” and highlighting Tehran’s role in the war in Ukraine.

The Ukraine side is not safe for Netanyahu, as Russian air defenses in neighboring Syria could be directed against Israeli aircraft during their periodic raids on Iranian interests there.

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Iran is also holding several foreign nationals who are considered political hostages by Western governments.

Netanyahu’s visit came after a drone attack on a Defense Ministry facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials, said the attack was carried out by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, although this has not been confirmed by Israel.

– Tension builds –

Netanyahu’s visit comes amid increased violence between Israelis and Palestinians, with Israeli warplanes striking the Gaza Strip early Thursday morning, prompting Palestinian rocket fire in response.

Last Friday, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed seven people outside a synagogue in the Israeli settler area in annexed East Jerusalem.

It was the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians in over a decade and came one day after an Israeli raid in the West Bank killed 10 Palestinians.

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Macron on Thursday reaffirmed “the importance of avoiding any measures that could fuel a cycle of violence” between Israelis and Palestinians, while offering “France’s full solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism,” the French president said.

While in France until Saturday, Netanyahu is also set to meet with French business leaders and leaders of the country’s Jewish community, the Israeli embassy said.

Judicial reforms planned by the prime minister’s latest coalition of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties have angered some business leaders, especially in the financial sector, who have threatened to leave Israel.