France Accuses Iran Of Building Nuclear Weapons Facilities

JAKARTA - The French government accuses Iran of building its nuclear weapons facilities. They also urged Tehran and Washington to review the nuclear agreement which had been agreed since 2015.

The French foreign minister urged Washington to review the nuclear agreement with Iran. It said Iran had violated the denuclearization agreement by proceeding with plans to enrich uranium by up to 20 percent at one of its facilities at Fordow.

Whereas Tehran previously reached an agreement with world powers to restrain disputed nuclear development ambitions. This is the Islamic Republic's first violation of the nuclear deal since President Donald Trump withdrew US troops from Iran, in 2018.

"The Trump administration voted for what is called a maximum pressure campaign in Iran. The result is that this strategy only increases risks and threats," Le Drian told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

"This must stop because Iran and - I say this clearly - are in the process of acquiring nuclear (weapons) capacity."

Iran denies these allegations with the intention of arming its nuclear program. With presidential elections in Iran scheduled for the month, Le Drian said it was urgent to "tell Iran that this was enough" and to bring Iran and the United States back into the deal.

Earlier, President-elect Joe Biden said he would restore the agreement between the US and Iran. However, if Iran does not comply with the agreement, Iran could face sanctions including nuclear violations.

However, Le Drian said that even if the two sides came back to the deal, it would not be enough. "Difficult discussions will be needed regarding ballistic proliferation and destabilization of Iran in its neighboring region," said Le Drian.