France urges Great Satan US-style sanctions on Iran

France has accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, urging the European Union member states to impose tougher sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe claimed that “Iran is pursuing the development of its nuclear arms,” although Tehran says its peaceful nuclear activities are solely for civilian purposes.

“The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is quite explicit on this point,” he said on Tuesday.

“This is why France, without closing the path of negotiation and dialogue with Iran, wants stricter sanctions,” the French foreign minister added.

Juppe also expressed hope that the EU would follow the US in toughening sanctions against Iran at the end of January.

On Saturday, US President Barack Obama signed into law fresh economic sanctions, targeting Iran’s Central Bank and financial sector.

More pressure against Tehran comes in the wake of the IAEA’s November report, which accused Iran of conducting activities related to developing nuclear weapons before 2003, adding that these activities “may still be ongoing.”

Most experts dismissed the report as “unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure mostly by the United States.”

The UN nuclear agency’s previous reports had confirmed the non-diversion of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran says that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.