In a post on his X account, Araqchi challenged Macron to remain consistent in his account of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, after the French president claimed he had always opposed any form of nuclear activity in Iran.
Araqchi contrasted the remarks with Macron’s explicit defense of the agreement before the US Congress in April 2018, shortly before the US withdrew from the deal.
“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’,” Araqchi wrote.
“Today, he claims he always opposed ‘any form of nuclear activity’ in Iran,” he added.
“Get your story straight, Mr. President,” Araqchi said, addressing the French president.
Araqchi also attached a screenshot of excerpts from Macron’s April 25, 2018, address to the US Congress, in which the French president acknowledged that the JCPOA provided an existing framework for controlling Iran’s nuclear activities and emphasized that France and the US had both signed the agreement.
In that speech, Macron explicitly declared, “That is why France will not leave the JCPOA, because we signed it,” while arguing that the agreement should not be abandoned without a more substantial alternative to address remaining concerns.
The remarks stand in sharp contrast to Macron’s more recent assertion that he had always opposed any form of nuclear activity in Iran. His earlier defense of the agreement underscores the inconsistency between France’s stated commitment to a negotiated framework for addressing Iran’s nuclear program and its subsequent rhetoric, raising questions about the credibility of Paris’s current position.