France warns UN sanctions on Iran won't lift without its sign-off
France wants to play a role in talks dealing with Iran's nuclear programme and will not approve the lifting of UN sanctions unless it is satisfied by the terms of a final accord, its foreign minister said.
Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday there would be no stability in the region unless US talks with Iran also dealt with Iran's ballistic missile programme and support for proxies.
"The return for major concessions that will be asked of Iran is the lifting of sanctions, sanctions that were taken at the United Nations," he said.
Reminding that France is a permanent, veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the foreign minister stressed that French approval is legally required to lift the sanctions.
"Our objective is to get major concessions from the Iranian regime, a radical change in posture. And we will have our word to say, because as a member of the UNSC it will be necessarily linked to the resolution of this crisis," Barrot added.
The agreement reached between the United States and Iran this week calls for negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme to take place over the next 60 days, with a final deal to be endorsed by the Security Council.
France, Britain and Germany want a role in shaping the coming talks after being sidelined in recent months.
