France Wants To Ratchet Up Sanctions On Iran

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says he has no doubt that Iran is developing nuclear weapons; therefore, France will support imposing further severe sanctions against Iran.

Today, Juppe told i-Télé: “Iran is continuing the development of nuclear weapons. The last report of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] is very clear on this. Therefore, while France will not close doors on talks with Iran, it will pursue the intensification of sanctions.”

He went on to say that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also suggested unprecedented sanctions on Iran, such as freezing foreign assets of the Central Bank and boycotting Iran’s oil exports.

Juppe added that France wants European countries to come to a decision on these sanctions by the end of this month.

He said these sanctions will include the U.S. and European countries, who will have a hand in formulating them.

The West accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons while Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful.

Iran has said, however, that it will block the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions are placed on its oil. Those threats were followed by the Iranian navy’s 10-day naval drill in the Persian Gulf. It ended yesterday with reports of complete success.