Iranian missiles a major concern, says France

Paris/Manama : France’s foreign minister yesterday issued a stark warning to Iran to control its ballistic missile programme or “it risked new sanctions”. 

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, ahead of a visit to Tehran, said France also wants Iran to start contributing in a “positive” manner to resolving the crises in the Middle East.

In a statement to the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, the minister said Iran needed to address international concerns over its ballistic missile programme. 

“There are programmes for missiles that can travel several thousand kilometres, 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 newspaper.

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

The comments came the same day that Iran’s armed forces spokesman said there could be no talks on the country’s missile programme 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 programme. 

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