France Warns Israel: Don't Attack Iran

World should 'prepare for the worst," says foreign minister

(NEWSER) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday threatened war with Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program. France favors negotiations and sanctions but the world should prepare for military action if all else fails, he said in an interview on French TV. Iranian nuclear weapons would pose "a real danger for the whole world," he warned. More»

Sarko calls for more sanctions

(NEWSER) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy took a bead on Iran in his first major foreign policy speech yesterday, suggesting that if Iran's nuclear weapons program wasn't halted, bombing could be the only alternative. He called Iran's atomic ambitions "without doubt the most serious crisis that weighs today on the international scene.” More»

(NEWSER) - A slip of the "h" landed France's foreign minister in hot water yesterday, Reuters reports. Bernard Kouchner told an Israeli newspaper that a nuclear weapon would not protect Iran "because you will eat them before." France shot off a quick statement explaining that Kouchner, like many English speakers in France, dropped the "h" in "hit" and came up with "eat." More»

Calls on Arab allies to join US to 'confront danger'

(NEWSER) - President Bush said today that the US and its Arab allies must stop the threat posed by Iran "before it's too late." Speaking in the United Arab Emirates during his 8-day trip to the Mideast to push his peace plan, Bush called Iran the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," and accused officials of funding extremists, giving the Taliban arms, and defying the United Nations. More»

US, Europe allies call for penalties after inspectors' report

(NEWSER) - Iran warned today that UN sanctions might bring a halt to its cooperation with nuclear inspectors, Reuters reports. The warning comes a day after Britain, France, and Germany joined the US in calling for such sanctions because a report by international inspectors gave Tehran mixed marks on its openness. "A wait-and-see approach is not an option," said the European allies. More»