France wants a political solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear plans rather than seeking to punish Tehran, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Friday. "Our goal is political, not at all punitive," he told RTL radio when asked whether Paris backed Washington's demands that the U.N. Security Council consider sanctions against Iran over its nuclear development.
Referring to recent talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, Douste-Blazy conveyed "we made proposals, the hand is extended, negotiations are possible."
Meanwhile, Israel's ex-chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon said Thursday that Israel definitely has a military option to counter the Iranian nuclear threat, and that this fact must be taken into consideration. According to Haaretz, Ya'alon, speaking at a semiar on the Iranian nuclear program at the Hudson Institute in Washington earlier this week, said that an attack on Iran could delay its nuclear program by several years.
He added that such a strike would be difficult to carry out from a military perspective as Iran's nuclear facilities are spread out, but he believed that was nonetheless feasible.
