No military plan against Iran: France
Thursday, 20 September 2007
PARIS, Sept 19 (AFP): French Defence Minister Herve Morin said Wednesday that France had no military plan to attack Iran's nuclear programme, despite warnings by the country's foreign minister to prepare for possible war. Morin said that speculation of a looming conflict was "fantasy".
"Nobody should think for a single instant that we are imagining and preparing military plans concerning Iran," Morin said in an interview with Canal Plus television.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner unleashed a diplomatic controversy at the weekend when he said the world should prepare for a possible "war" over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment that many western countries believe hides efforts to build a nuclear bomb.
France is also pressing for stronger UN sanctions against Iran, though Kouchner has since eased his stance saying that intense negotiations with Iran must be used first.
"Nobody should think for a single instant that we are imagining and preparing military plans concerning Iran," Morin said in an interview with Canal Plus television.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner unleashed a diplomatic controversy at the weekend when he said the world should prepare for a possible "war" over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment that many western countries believe hides efforts to build a nuclear bomb.
France is also pressing for stronger UN sanctions against Iran, though Kouchner has since eased his stance saying that intense negotiations with Iran must be used first.