French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his German and UK counterparts will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi later in the day to present “a comprehensive diplomatic and technical offer”, Macron told reporters at the Paris Air Show.
The plan, he said, would:
- Return UN inspectors – restore full International Atomic Energy Agency access to “all sites” and move Iran to zero uranium enrichment;
- Curb missiles – establish oversight of Iranian ballistic-missile activity;
- Cut proxy funding – limit financial support for armed groups across the Middle East;
- Free detainees – secure the release of foreign nationals held in Iran, including two French citizens.
“Iran must show it is ready to join the negotiating platform we are putting on the table,” Macron said, warning that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an “existential risk” to Israel.
He also urged Israel to stop strikes on civilian and energy facilities, arguing military action alone cannot disable Iran’s program.
“Some sites are extremely well protected; we don’t even know where the 60 percent-enriched uranium is,” he added.
The diplomatic push follows a week of Israeli raids on Iranian nuclear and military installations and Iranian missile salvos that have killed hundreds on both sides.
Washington has yet to decide whether to join the conflict militarily; President Donald Trump has said he will take up the issue within two weeks.
European officials hope the Geneva meeting can open a path back to substantive negotiations suspended when the fighting erupted.
“No one should underestimate the danger of an Iran with nuclear weapons,” Macron said, “but nothing justifies strikes that harm civilians.”
(jh)
Source: AFP, The Washington Post