“Through making baseless allegations about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities, the French authorities are taking a stance that does not conform with reality and does not correspond with Iran’s transparent objectives in its civilian nuclear program,” Araqchi said in a statement issued on Monday.

He also expressed surprise over the French officials’ efforts to distort the facts and kowtow to the “illegitimate” Israeli regime.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Araqchi also rejected French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius’ allegation that Iran is involved in the conflict in Syria and said that Tehran is only trying to help find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

He went on to say that certain states, which are supporting and arming “irresponsible” militant groups in Syria, have adopted an unconstructive stance toward the crisis, and such an approach has only led to more suffering for the Syrian people, more loss of life and wealth, and more insecurity in Syria and the rest of the Middle East.

Araqchi also condemned Fabius’ comments, in which he said Iran should not be invited to the upcoming Geneva conference on Syria, describing the remarks as surprising.

On May 25, Fabius expressed opposition to Iran’s participation in the Geneva conference, claiming that Iran “is not seeking a political solution” in Syria and is “directly” involved in the conflict in the country.