Barrot: Military confrontation seems inevitable if no new Iran nuclear deal

France's foreign minister warned on Wednesday that if world powers were unable to quickly reach a new agreement with Iran over its contested nuclear programme then a military confrontation seemed "almost inevitable".
Speaking after President Emmanuel Macron convened a rare and undisclosed meeting of key ministers and experts on Wednesday to discuss the Iran dossier, Jean-Noel Barrot appeared to ramp up the pressure on Tehran.

"Our confidence and our conviction remain intact," Barrot said. "Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons."
"Our priority is to reach an agreement that verifiably and durably constrains the Iranian nuclear programme," he added.

Since taking office in January, Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy, which in his first term saw the United States withdraw from a landmark 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear programme and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting that its enrichment activities are solely for peaceful purposes.