|
PARIS, France
(CNN) -- Iran's nuclear activity is a
cover for a clandestine weapons program,
French Foreign Minister Philippe
Douste-Blazy has said in France's most
direct attack on Tehran in the
escalating international dispute.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator
immediately dismissed the charge,
insisting that Iran did not "want to
have the bomb."
Douste-Blazy's bold statement on
Thursday appeared to reflect mounting
exasperation and a tougher stance than
European negotiators had previously
maintained in their efforts to persuade
Iran to suspend nuclear activities.
"No civilian nuclear program can
explain the Iranian nuclear program. It
is a clandestine military nuclear
program," Douste-Blazy said on France-2
television.
"The international community has sent
a very firm message in telling the
Iranians to return to reason and suspend
all nuclear activity and the enrichment
and conversion of uranium, but they
aren't listening to us."
Europe and the United States fear
that Iran is using its nuclear energy
program to build nuclear weapons, and
the U.N. Security Council is to consider
Iran's nuclear activities next month.
Amid mounting tensions, Iran resumed
small-scale uranium enrichment last
week.
"Now it's up to the Security Council
to say what it will do, what means it
will use to stop, to manage, to halt
this terrible crisis of nuclear
proliferation caused by Iran,"
Douste-Blazy said.
While U.S. rhetoric towards Iran has
been quite firm, European leaders have
been more cautious. France, Britain and
Germany have led European negotiations
that have failed to persuade Iran to
suspend parts of its nuclear program.
"People are clearly feeling somewhat
frustrated that the Iranians have been
given lots of opportunities they don't
seem to want to take advantage of," said
Richard Whitman of the Chatham House
think tank in London.
He noted that the U.N.'s nuclear
watchdog, the International Atomic
Energy Agency, was unusually stern in
reporting Iran to the Security Council
earlier this month.
He said the French comments reflect
"a sense of exasperation with the
Iranian government. All of the doors
that were open in terms of negotiations
... are gradually being closed by the
Iranians."
The French Foreign Ministry insisted
that Douste-Blazy's comments were in
line with the European position on Iran.
"France shares the concerns of its
European partners and the international
community," spokeswoman Agnes
Romatet-Espagne said. "The sensitive
nuclear activities conducted now by Iran
in terms of conversion and enrichment
raise doubt about their peaceful and
civilian nature."
In response to Douste-Blazy's
comments, Iranian negotiator Ali
Larijani said: "We want civilian nuclear
energy, we don't want to have the bomb."
Speaking from Tehran on France-Inter
radio, he said: "Concerning nuclear
arms, we are a responsible country. ...
We want to be in this camp" of countries
that have nuclear energy technology, but
no nuclear weapons, such as Brazil and
Japan, he said.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday
that the United States would "walk a
fine line" in seeking punitive
international sanctions against Iran's
Islamic government over its disputed
nuclear program.
The next big test comes later this
month, at talks in Moscow on moving
Iran's enrichment program to Russia,
which would allay fears that Iran 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 does
not.
|
