French leader retracts comments on Iran
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French President Jacques Chirac said in an interview with three newspapers that Iran's possession of a nuclear bomb wouldn't be "very dangerous" and that if it used the weapon on Israel, Tehran would be immediately "razed."
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By Francois MurphyPARIS - French President Jacques Chirac said on Monday talks with Iran on its nuclear ambitions should be pursued since U.N. sanctions have never worked well, a fresh hint of EU misgivings ...
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Iran will not abandon its right to nuclear technology despite the threat of more sanctions, Iran told France in a letter published on Monday, a day before talks to try to defuse the atomic row with the West.
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PARIS  -- French President Jacques Chirac said in an interview with three newspapers that Iran's possession of a nuclear bomb wouldn't be "very dangerous" and that if it used the weapon on Israel, Tehran would be immediately "razed."
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President Nicolas Sarkozy reiterated France&#39;s desire to pull its troops out of Afghanistan, but signalled it would not abandon its allies there, in an interview published Tuesday.
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French President Jacques Chirac suggested Monday that the international community suspend the threat of U.N. sanctions in exchange for Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment during negotiations.
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PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac has said it would not be very dangerous for Iran to have a nuclear bomb, but later retracted the remark, according to an interview ...Comment
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French President Jacques Chirac told  reporters an Iran that possessed one or two nuclear weapons  would not pose much of a danger and then retracted many of his  comments, the International Herald Tribune said on Thursday.
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on  Monday a diplomatic push by the world&#39;s powers to rein in  Tehran&#39;s nuclear program was the only alternative to &quot;an  Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran.&quot;
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He may have taken back what he said but Jacques Chirac this week nevertheless became the first western head of state to break a taboo by recognising that Iran may become a nuclear-armed power.
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in  an interview published Wednesday he was not drunk at a news  conference where he appeared slightly out of breath and trying  not to laugh.
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"Next week in New York there will be discussions to try to have a resolution. If in the framework of the U.N. things are not sufficient, we will act in the European framework."  France's foreign minister appeared Tuesday to soften his weekend warning of war with Iran if it develops nuclear weapons, emphasizing instead the need to 'negotiate, negotiate, negotiate without respite.'Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also had said that European leaders were considering their own economic sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt the enrichment of uranium in its nuclear program.Kouchner, who is on his first trip to Moscow as France's top diplomat, on Sunday said 'we must prepare ourselves for the worst' if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, and he specified that could mean a war. Read more
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Iran has given a response to EU pressure for it to suspend uranium enrichment, the French foreign ministry has said. Iranian authorities delivered their reply late on Thursday to Britain, France and Germany
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France does not believe claims by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that his country&#39;s nuclear activities are peaceful, President Nicolas Sarkozy&#39;s office said Thursday.
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WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (IPS) - In a sharp departure from U.S. policy, a leading  French diplomat has called on the international coalition  sponsoring U.N. sanctions against Iran to support a larger  Iranian role in the Middle East.
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France's ambassador to Israel  criticized Israelis on Thursday for what he called "anti-French  neurosis," drawing a rebuke from the Jewish state and touching  off a new diplomatic row between the two countries.
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France's foreign minister appeared Tuesday to soften his weekend warning of war with Iran if it develops nuclear weapons, emphasizing instead the need to "negotiate, negotiate, negotiate without respite."