France’s Macron says Europe likely to reimpose sanctions on Iran soon

By the end of the month, according to France’s President Emmanuel Macron, major European countries are likely to reimpose international sanctions on Iran.

Macron responded positively when asked whether Iran’s efforts to avoid them were “not serious” in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday.

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In the absence of a negotiated settlement on the Iranian nuclear program, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (the E3) launched a 30-day process to reimpose sanctions in late August.

Iran has criticized the E3 decision as “unjustified, illegal, and without any legal justification.”

Iran is accused of breaking the 2015 nuclear agreement, which is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), by the three European countries.

Tehran agreed to reduce its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions under the terms of the agreement, which they all signed, along with the United States, China, Russia, and the European Union.

However, US President Donald Trump reinstituted sanctions against Iran in his first year in office and unilaterally withdrew from the deal.

The US, Iran, and Israel reportedly fought over Tehran’s alleged nuclear weapons ambitions earlier this summer. The US attacked three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Israeli offensive in June.

The three largest economies on the continent, three of which are in the top three, initially agreed to carry on the 2015 agreement. They now allege that Iran has violated the agreement’s provisions, claiming that Tehran has amassed uranium stockpiles that have been over 40 times overdue.

Both sides noted that there had not been much of a breakthrough in the effort to reach an agreement during a phone call between the E3 countries’ foreign ministers, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, and their Iranian counterpart on Wednesday.