France Warns Israel Against Iran Attack
French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius, said Monday that any Israeli strike against Iran would “turn against Israel” and called for stronger sanctions to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“I am absolutely opposed to the idea that Iran would gain nuclear weapons, but I think if there was an Israeli attack, unfortunately it would turn against Israel and [would put] Iran as the victim,” said Fabius.
He said Paris fears that “if there is a strike against them, they would be victimize and recover legitimacy among the population there. We say that we must increase sanctions and at the same time continue to discuss with Iran,” he said. “Unfortunately, the Chinese, Russians and Indians do not comply with the sanctions, it’s a hole, even if sanctions are beginning to be more effective,” he said.
The minister did not specify what sectors could be affected by the strengthening of sanctions. “We are studying all schemes,” he conveyed. “The Iranians are trying to develop centrifuges [to enrich uranium] in a way that has no reason if they do not have a military purpose, so the risk is real,” noted Fabius. He also regretted that the 5 +1 (the United States, China, France, UK, Russia and Germany) with Iran are “not moving.”
According to him, one can “not trust” the Iranians. “This is a regime that is capable of lying to its own people,” he said. According to the latest report issued by the IAEA, despite sanctions, Iran has doubled its capacity to enrich uranium in its underground site at Fordo. The agency also accused Tehran of hindering its work on the Parchin site.
