Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has publicly challenged French President Emmanuel Macron over his shifting positions on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), urging him to “get your story straight.”

In a post on X on Thursday night, Araghchi recalled Macron’s firm stance before the US Congress in 2018, just before then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear agreement. At the time, Macron declared that “France won’t leave the JCPOA, because we signed it.”

Today, however, Macron claims he has always opposed “any form of nuclear activity” in Iran, a position Araghchi described as inconsistent with the French leader’s earlier public commitments.

The remarks come as Iran continues to defend its right to peaceful nuclear energy under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, while facing an unlawful US-Israeli war of aggression.

Iranian officials have repeatedly stressed that the country has adhered to its international obligations, only to see the deal abandoned by Washington and undermined by its European partners.

Since the unilateral US exit from the JCPOA in 2018, successive administrations in Washington have imposed maximum pressure, supported Israeli attacks, and more recently launched joint military aggression against Iranian territory. Iran has responded through legitimate defensive operations, including Operation True Promise, while reasserting control over the Strait of Hormuz in response to illegal US naval blockade measures and acts of piracy.

Tehran maintains that genuine diplomacy remains possible only when accompanied by respect for international agreements, an end to coercion, and recognition of Iran’s sovereign rights. Araghchi’s reminder to Macron highlights a broader Iranian critique of Western double standards, supporting a multilateral deal when convenient, then rewriting history once political winds shift.

Media reports of Iran showing nuclear flexibility false; US trapped in Hormuz Strait: Source

An informed Iranian official has categorically rejected reports circulated by the Saudi-owned Al-Hadath channel alleging that Tehran has shown flexibility on its nuclear position.

Iran has consistently stated that it will not accept restrictions that go beyond its NPT rights or submit to pressure that seeks to deny the country the benefits of a deal it faithfully implemented for years after its signing.