France warns Iran on nuclear activities
France has warned Iran that its decision to resume its nuclear activities could spark a major international crisis.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Tuesday urged Tehran to return to the negotiating table or risk facing sanctions.
Hardening France’s tone towards Iran, Philippe Douste-Blazy said European negotiators planned to urgently propose an extraordinary meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s council of governors.
In the meeting, the EU will ask the UN’s nuclear watchdog “to specify very strongly and very firmly to the Iranians the need to return to the negotiating table” or risk facing sanctions.
“If the Iranians still do not accept what the council of governors propose, then the international community must turn to the Security Council” and “we will see what type of sanctions to give to Iran,” Douste-Blazy said after the government’s weekly cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said earlier on Tuesday that Iran should go before the UN Security Council if it resumed uranium processing.
On Monday evening, Iran agreed to a two-day delay in reopening its Isfahan nuclear processing plant, after vowing to restart nuclear processing.
European Union negotiators have urged Iran not to take unilateral action, saying they are only days from delivering a package of incentives addressing security, political, economic and nuclear issues.