France accuses Tehran of mounting covert nuclear plan

FRANCE - has for the first time said Iran's nuclear programme is a covert military plan to acquire nuclear weapons.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Iran's nuclear work, which Tehran says is solely for power generation, could not possibly be designed for civilian use alone.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani responded with a warning to the West not to hector Tehran, an exchange that boded ill for talks in Moscow on Monday on the Russian proposal.

"No civilian nuclear programme can explain the Iranian nuclear programme. So it is a clandestine Iranian military nuclear programme," Douste-Blazy told France 2 television.

"The international community has sent a firm message by saying to the Iranians: 'Come back to reason. Suspend all nuclear activity and the enrichment of uranium and the conversion of uranium'."

Larijani reacted swiftly, telling Iranian television: "I suggest that Mr Douste-Blazy use a diplomatic tone and avoid increasing the tension."

He told France Inter radio that Iran was ready to negotiate with members of the European Union. "But they are not going to talk to us in the language of threats," he said.

Iran's Energy Minister Parviz Fattah said despite huge oil and gas reserves the country needed nuclear power to meet booming demand.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said: "The international community is very concerned about [Iran's] continued pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, and the international community is determined to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability."

Iran resumed small-scale feeding of uranium gas into centrifuge enrichment machines on Tuesday after a break of two-and-a-half years.

After three years of investigation, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no hard proof Iran is seeking nuclear arms, but has been unable to verify that its atomic programme is entirely for peaceful aims.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he held the same position as Douste-Blazy. The onus was on Tehran to allay suspicions about its nuclear programme.

China, which like France is a permanent UN Security Council member, said it was concerned about the standoff. "It's extremely important for the international community to uphold the consensus on resolving the Iran nuclear issue through diplomatic means," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

A top Russian general said Washington might eventually use force against Iran, with perilous consequences for the world.

"Can the developments surrounding Iran follow a military path? I cannot rule this out," Russian Chief of Staff General Yuri Baluyevsky was quoted as saying.

He said US military capabilities could not be compared with Iran's, but apart from any Iranian response, any attack would set off unpredictable reactions in the Muslim world.

Douste-Blazy said the UN Security Council would decide what action to take on Iran once IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei submitted a report in March.

- REUTERS