France Demands Iranian "Action" on Atomic Dispute

http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20111006_9753.php

France Demands Iranian "Action" on Atomic Dispute
Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011

France on Wednesday pressed Iran to pursue a substantive effort to halt its uranium enrichment activities, the Xinhua News Agency reported (see GSN, Oct. 5).

France, the United States and other Western powers suspect Iran's enrichment program is intended to generate nuclear-weapon material; Tehran has insisted the effort would exclusively produce fuel for civilian applications.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent weeks has repeatedly said his country could end manufacturing of 20 percent-enriched uranium if other countries supply Tehran with the same substance. Iran has said the higher-enriched material is intended to fuel a medical research reactor, but it also enables the nation to potentially more quickly produce nuclear-weapon material, which must be refined to roughly 90 percent.

"Beyond the statements, what we want is action," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said on Wednesday in remarks reported by radio network Europe 1.

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