Iran rejects French warning of Israeli strike risk

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TEHRAN, Sept 6 (Reuters) Iran dismissed Saturday a warning by France's president that the Islamic Republic was taking a dangerous gamble over its nuclear program because one day its arch-foe Israel could strike.brGovernment spokesman Gholamhossein Elham accused Israel of threatening global peace but reiterated Tehran's publicly stated view that it was not in a position to attack Iran.brWestern powers accuse Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, of seeking the atom bomb under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denies the charge, saying it only wants to master atomic technology in order to generate electricity.brThe United States and Israel have not ruled out military action if the dispute cannot be settled through diplomacy.brDuring a visit to Damascus on Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iran was taking a major risk in continuing the process to obtain a military nuclear capacity. He added One day ... we could find one morning that Israel has struck.brIran's state broadcaster IRIB quoted Elham, the government spokesman, as saying in response to Sarkozy's statement