JEDDAH: A new diplomatic spat between Iran and France on Saturday threatened Tehran’s ability to find a way round punishing US sanctions.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris was ready to impose new penalties on Tehran if talks on Iran’s ballistic missile programme fail to make progress.

“We are ready, if the talks don’t yield results, to apply sanctions firmly, and they know it,” Le Drian said. He also demanded that Iran curb its meddling in the region, specifically its military presence in Syria.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry replied: “Iran’s missile program is not negotiable,” and warned that “any new sanctions by European countries will lead to a review of our relations with them.”

Diplomats say new sanctions being considered by EU countries include asset freezes and travel bans on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and individuals involved in the ballistic missile program. 

France is a key player in a European-backed system to ease non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent sanctions reimposed by President Donald Trump after he withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program. 

The new pressure on Tehran “does not go nearly far enough,” the Iranian-American Harvard scholar Dr. Majid Rafizadeh told Arab News,

 “As long as France tries to help Tehran skirt US sanctions, the Iranian regime’s violations will continue,” he said. “France needs to commit itself to meaningful joint action with the US and Arab powers to put a stop to the Iranian regime’s rogue behavior.”