Tehran [Iran], October 23 : Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sharply criticised French President Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of expressing "contradictory" views regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Taking to X, Araghchi pointed out the apparent shift in Macron’s rhetoric over the years, urging the French leader to maintain consistency in his stance.
"Just before POTUS exited the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2018, Mr. Macron insisted before the U.S. Congress that 'France won't leave the JCPOA, because we signed it.' Today, he claims he always opposed 'any form of nuclear activity' in Iran. Get your story straight, Mr. President," Araghchi wrote on X.
Along with his post, the Iranian Foreign Minister shared an image featuring an excerpt from Macron’s April 2018 address to the United States Congress. During that speech, the French President had advocated for staying in the 2015 agreement, presenting it as an established international framework designed to monitor and regulate Iran’s nuclear program rather than completely eliminating it.
On July 14, 2015, the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the European Union (EU), and Iran reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful.
Macron, according to Al Jazeera earlier this week, said that "Paris had always opposed any sort of nuclear activity in Iran." 
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would continue targeting Iran's financial lifelines until the country's leadership could no longer use them to sustain its activities.
"The noose is tightening around Iran's economy, and not even Iran's so-called allies can save it. The Department of the Treasury will not relent until the Iranian regime's coffers are empty and every remaining financial lifeline sustaining its war machine has been severed," Bessent said.