Macron Says Regional Sates, Israel Should Be Involved In Talks With Iran
French President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated that regional states should be involved in talks with Iran to improve the chances of a nuclear agreement.
French President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated that regional states should be involved in talks with Iran to improve the chances of a nuclear agreement.
Speaking to reporters Saturday, Macron said it is important “to reengage a slightly broader dynamic and involve regional powers as well,” an added. “It is difficult to reach an agreement if the Gulf states, Israel and all those whose security is directly affected are not involved.”
It was significant that Macron mentioned Israel, that Iran has repeatedly threatened to destroy. Israel has also vowed never to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
The French president had said in January that Saudi Arabia and other regional powers should be part of talks to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA.
The United States and its three European allies, the United Kingdom, France and Germany that are negotiating with Iran in Vienna also want to address Tehran’s regional policy of supporting militant, proxy groups, but Tehran has flatly rejected any talks beyond the revival of the JCPOA.
Talks with Iran that resumed on November 29 adjourned on Friday without a success amid pessimism among Western countries who said that Tehran did not show any sign of being ready to reach a deal.
A large explosion in April that inflicted major damage to the Natanz uranium enrichment site was conducted by recruiting several Iranian scientists working in the complex, the report says. They smuggled explosives into the highly secure facility and at the chosen moment the explosion was triggered remotely.
The Jewish Chronicle (JC) says 90 percent of centrifuge machines enriching uranium were destroyed and the facility was put out of action for nine months. The scientists and people involved in the operation were evacuated from Iran and are in a safe place the report adds.
The Natanz incident rattled the Iranian leadership, because it was so large, they could not hide it, or claim it was a technical accident. The Islamic Republic heavily promotes an image of invincibility to keep control of its restive population and successful sabotage acts damage its image domestically.
Natanz was the target of an earlier attack in July 2020, when a sensitive building for manufacturing new centrifuges blew up. The JC report says that in this operation explosives were imbedded in construction material that Iran bought from Israeli agents and when the time came the Mossad pushed the button.
The spectacular assassination of a top Iranian nuclear and military scientist in November 2020 was another sabotage act widely attributed to Israel, when a remotely operated heavy rifle was placed in a van and opened fire at the car of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, killing him on the spot, despite the presence of a team of bodyguards.
This led to mutual recrimination between security agencies but was particularly embarrassing to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) which had the responsibility to protect Fakhrizadeh.
As the Biden Administration has been trying to revive the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran, abandoned by Donald Trump in 2018, Israel has become highly worried that Tehran will get maximum concessions from the US and keep its nuclear program intact. Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened in recent months to use military force if needed to deny Iran a nuclear option.
