France urges stronger international response to Iran's missile program

[February 10, 2023]  PARIS (Reuters) - There must be a stronger "international response" to the threat posed by Iran's ballistic missiles program, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told her U.S. counterpart Anthony Blinken, France's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.  

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna looks on during a news conference with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira ( not pictured ) at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

The French Foreign Ministry said Colonna and Blinken had spoken by phone on Thursday, during which they discussed an array of topics, including Ukraine and Iran.

"The minister mentioned Iran's destabilizing activities and the increasing threat posed by the increase of its ballistic missiles arsenal, the proliferation of missiles including towards non-state actors (...) and the need to strengthen the international response to this threat," said the ministry, regarding Colonna's talks with Blinken.

They also discussed the need for Iran to fully co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said last week Tehran was inconsistent in meeting its nuclear obligations.

Colonna and Blinken also reiterated their "full support" to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia almost a year ago, and discussed the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and John Irish; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

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