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Netanyahu to Macron: Now isn’t the time to talk with Iran

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday spoke by telephone with French President Emanuel Macron. The conversation was at the initiative of the French side.

Netanyahu told Macron that Israel would defend itself against aggression against it and would prevent its enemies who seek its destruction from arming themselves with lethal weaponry, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Netanyahu also emphasized that those who provide shelter for aggression and arming will not be immune and added that the present – when Iran is stepping up its aggression in the region – is precisely the wrong time to talk with Iran.

The conversation follows France’s efforts to save the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers following the US withdrawal from it.

Macron met Iranian officials last week ahead of the G7 summit in France in order make proposals aimed at de-escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The French President later invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the G7 summit, in a move initially reported to have surprised US President Donald Trump, who later indicated he had been informed about it beforehand.

Meanwhile on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a new report that Iran has gone further in breaching its nuclear deal with world powers, increasing its stock of enriched uranium and refining it to a higher purity than allowed.