French Foreign Minister Says Iran Needs to Address Concerns Over Missile Program

Ahead of a visit to Tehran on Monday, France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Iran needed to address international concerns over its ballistic missile program or it risked new sanctions.

“There are programs for missiles that can travel several thousand kilometers, which are not compatible with UN Security Council resolutions and which exceed the needs of defending Iran’s borders,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

“If not tackled head on, this country risks new sanctions,” he added.

The foreign ministry said in a statement that France also wants Iran to start contributing in a “positive” manner to resolving the crises in the Middle East.

“In this regard, the crisis in Syria and the humanitarian situation there will particularly be discussed, along with other regional issues where Iran is involved (such as Yemen, Libya and Iraq),” the ministry said.

The comments came the same day that Iran’s armed forces spokesman said there could be no talks on the country’s missile program without the West’s destruction of its own nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers unless more is done to curb Iran’s missile program. European governments have been scrambling to appease Trump and keep the deal intact.

Le Drian said last month that Iran’s missile program and involvement in regional conflicts needed to be addressed if Iran “wants to return to the family of nations”.