Alarm, climbdown follow France’s Iran war talk

Russia and China expressed alarm on Tuesday over comments by France’s foreign minister that Paris should prepare for the prospect of war with Iran, which the West accuses of secretly developing nuclear weapons. But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the comments by French government officials suggesting possible war were intended for the media and should not be taken seriously.

Minister Bernard Kouchner sought, however, to play down his weekend remarks, saying they were meant as a “message of peace”. “I do not want it to be said that I am a warmonger,” he told Le Monde newspaper, days before the five UN

Security Council permanent members, including Russia and China, and Germany were due to meet to discuss possible new sanctions against Tehran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it clear at a joint news briefing with Kouchner that his remarks had disturbed a Kremlin, like China, less inclined to sanctions than the West. “We are worried by reports that there is serious consideration being given to military action in Iran,” he said.