French leader favors leeway for Iran

UNITED NATIONS -- In a potential break with the Bush administration, French President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that he is "never in favor of sanctions" and suggested that the United States and other nations could begin talks with Iran on its nuclear program before Iran formally suspends its nuclear activities.

Chirac's remarks came as President George W. Bush prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly today, part of an intensifying U.S. drive to secure international sanctions against Iran.

"I don't believe in a solution without dialogue," Chirac said in an interview with Europe-1 radio. "I am not pessimistic. I think that Iran is a great nation, an old culture, an old civilization, and that we can find solutions through dialogue."

Sources at the UN, though, downplayed the potential effect of Chirac's comments, saying he merely articulated the positions of some of the other members of the six-nation Security Council.

But Chirac did not expressly state that Iran must stop enriching uranium in order to move sanctions off the table. If he is not linking the two, then that position could cause concern among Security Council hard-liners since France could wield its veto power to block sanctions.

John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, responded to Chirac's comments with a somewhat stronger tone, noting that the Aug. 31 deadline imposed on Iran to stop its uranium enrichment activity has passed, and that the United States is prepared to move forward with sanctions.

In Vienna, Iranian Vice President Reza Aghazadeh said his country was "ready for negotiations and political compromise." He warned, however, that "any hostile action by the UN Security Council would lead to limitation of cooperation" with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Staff writer Zachary R. Dowdy contributed to this story from the United Nations