France Says Iran Is Seeking To Make Nuclear Weapons

February 17, 2006 
The Wall Street Journal
Original Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114010010747475876-email.html
PARIS -- France accused Iran on Thursday of secretly making nuclear weapons, ditching Europe's traditional diplomatic caution for bluntness in remarks that echoed the tough U.S. stance on Iran's disputed nuclear program.
The accusation from French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy -- which Iran quickly denied -- appeared to reflect mounting exasperation and a tougher stance by one of three key European negotiators.
No civilian nuclear program can explain the Iranian nuclear program. It is a clandestine military nuclear program, Mr. Douste-Blazy said on France-2 television.
By contrast, though, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that she was truly optimistic, I would even say very optimistic, that we can do everything to solve this conflict with diplomatic means.
Britain's foreign secretary, Jack Straw, also erred on the side of caution, saying there are strong suspicions internationally that Iran may be seeking ... to develop a nuclear weapons capability but we do not have absolute proof.
The board of the International Atomic Energy Agency voted last month to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, but Russia, a close ally of Iran, insisted that the council not take up the file until March. Last week, Iran resumed small-scale uranium enrichment, insisting the program is for nuclear energy, not arms, but still heightening tensions.
In Washington, the House voted 404-4 on Thursday to approve a non-binding resolution expressing support for efforts to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council. The Senate already approved the symbolic legislation, which imposes no legal consequences on Iran.
The next big test comes at Iranian-Russian talks starting Monday in Moscow on a Russian proposal to move Iran's enrichment program to Russia and abandon enrichment on Iranian soil for a significant period of time.
The proposal is meant to allay fears that Tehran might misuse the technology to make nuclear arms. Tensions over Iran are likely to diminish if Tehran agrees to the Russian proposal -- and to balloon if it doesn't.
A deputy Russian foreign minister, Alexander Alekseyev, said Thursday that cooperation with China could help push Iran toward accepting Moscow's offer, according to the Interfax news agency. He added, however, that the Iranian nuclear issue recently had become sharper, and it is too early to assess the effectiveness of our joint steps to resolve it.
China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya, asked at U.N. headquarters in New York about the Russian proposal, said: I think it's a way out. I do hope that all sides can agree to that.
The French Foreign Ministry insisted that Mr. Douste-Blazy's remarks were in line with the European position on Iran, but fellow negotiators Germany and Britain haven't spoken so frankly.
Iran's chief negotiator, Ali Larijani, lashed back.
I recommend that Mr. Douste-Blazy speak in diplomatic terms and avoid increasing tension, he said, according to Iranian state-run television. The motivation of the French foreign minister behind his new comments is ambiguous to us. But it is in the interests of the region that the West adopts a logical stance toward Iran's nuclear activities.
Georges Le Guelte, a nuclear expert at France's Institute for International and Strategic Research, called Mr. Douste-Blazy's statement remarkable.
He called it a powerful message to French companies operating in Iran that have pressured the government to remain cautious.
The U.S., Europe and Russia have stayed together as they seek to pressure Iran.
Russia's top military chief, meanwhile, warned the U.S. against launching a military strike against Iran, saying it is hard to predict how the Muslim world will respond.