Iran’s nuclear program is nearing ‘the point of no return,’ France’s Macron says

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Iran’s nuclear program is nearing the “point of no return,” French President Emmanuel Macron is now warning. 

Iran is the top “strategic and security challenge” for France and Europe this year, Macron said this week during an annual foreign policy conference with French ambassadors, according to Reuters. 

“The acceleration of the nuclear program leads us nearly to the point of no return,” the French leader was quoted as saying. 

“In the coming months we will have to ask ourselves whether to use… the mechanism to restore sanctions,” Macron added. 

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Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/Aurelien Morissard/Reuters)

The comments come after International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran is enriching uranium close to the 90% level required for weapons grade. 

French, German and British diplomats are now set to meet their Iranian counterparts on Jan. 13 in an effort to defuse tensions, according to Reuters. 

“Tehran is afraid of a united and transatlantic front against the Islamic Republic and is trying to tempt both Trump and Europe with talks aimed at [delaying] the regime’s nuclear march,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

Iran has argued that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. 

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This photo released in November 2019 by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows centrifuge machines in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran.  (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)

Axios recently reported that in a top meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan roughly a month ago, President Biden was presented with a series of strike options should Iran make a move to develop a nuclear weapon.

Biden has vowed not to let Iran develop a nuclear weapon on his watch, but it remains unclear what steps Iran would have to take in order for the Biden administration to respond with direct hits, given that Tehran has already been reported to have stockpiled near-weapons-grade uranium and to be bolstering its weaponization capabilities.

The president was reportedly presented with a series of scenarios and response options during the meeting, though sources told the outlet that Biden has not made any final decisions regarding the information he was given.  

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world on Monday, Jan. 6, at the Elysee Palace in Paris.       (Aurelien Morissard/Reuters)

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Another source reportedly told Axios there currently are no active discussions on militarily hitting Iran’s program.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Related Topics

• Iran
• Nuclear Proliferation
• Nuclear
• France
• Europe
• Middle East
• Joe Biden