French FM: Iran in Final Day of Talks, Threatened to Leave

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who represented France in the nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, revealed on Friday that his nation had rejected an original version of the deal reached the day before for not being “solid enough.”

In an interview with Europe 1 radio cited by Fox News, Fabius said he had tried to hold out for stronger terms, but when the Iranian delegation threatened to leave the talks he was forced to capitulate.

France wants a strong deal “to prevent other countries in the Persian Gulf such as Saudi Arabia from embarking on nuclear proliferation,” Fabius said.

Speaking about the framework deal that was reached in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday, the foreign minister called it a “very important” step, but said “the end of the road is the end of June,” by which time a final deal is to be reached.

Fabius’s comments come after the Wall Street Journal released an in-depth report Thursday night, citing numerous current and former US representatives in the negotiations, and showing how US President Barack Obama’s administration gradually gave up on its goals during the course of the talks from September 2013.
The White House originally aimed at convincing Iran to take apart much of its nuclear infrastructure, but Iran responded firmly in the negative.