France: Sanctions by December if Tehran continues stonewalling

As talks got underway in Geneva between diplomats representing Iran and the Group of Six Nations, French Defense Minister Hervé Morin said that new sanctions against Iran must be imposed if Tehran fails to clear up suspicions over its nuclear program by December. “If Iran does not respond to the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency by December, the international community must decide on sanctions,” Morin told the newspaper ‘Le Figaro’.

“France is determined on this point. There is no other approach,” he added. President Nicolas Sarkozy also said last week that world powers must set a December deadline for Iran to meet demands and dispel fears that its nuclear program has a military aim. “If by December there is not a profound change by the Iranian leaders, sanctions will have to be adopted,” Sarkozy said at a news conference in New York last week. France is one of the six powers sitting down with Iran in Geneva. The talks there are aimed at resolving the stand-off over Iran’s nuclear program and expected to last until Friday.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner expressed hope that the talks would lead to a breakthrough and lift the threat of sanctions. “I’m no fanatic about sanctions,” he said on a visit to Moscow, according to AP. While sanctions could not be ruled out, major powers would not be discussing such measures at today’s meeting in Geneva, he said.

Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made a surprise visit to Washington on Wednesday after being granted a visa by the US State Department. A US spokesman played down the significance of the decision to permit the visit by Mottaki, even though it marked the first time in years that a senior Iranian official visited Washington since 1980. He said Mottaki would not be meeting any US officials or any Americans representing the US government.