Hollande assures Israel on Iranian nuclear sanctions

French president François Hollande has vowed to uphold economic sanctions on Iran as long as Teheran does not prove it has taken serious steps toward curbing its nuclear programme

Speaking at the start of a three-day state visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Mr Hollande promised that Paris will not make concessions on nuclear proliferation.

“France will maintain all its measures and sanctions until we are certain that Iran has renounced nuclear weapons,” he said. “Iran is a threat to Israel, to the region, and to the whole world.”

Good timing
The timing of this week's visit, Mr Hollande's first to Israel as head of state since his election in May 2012, couldn't have been better. Reports last week that France had scuttled an interim agreement with Iran at the Geneva talks led to a surge in pro-French sentiment in Israel, even though US secretary of state John Kerry indicated it was Iran that prevented a deal.

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed Mr Hollande as “a true friend of Israel” and urged him not to flinch on his opposition to what French foreign minister Laurent Fabius had reportedly termed a “sucker’s deal”.

He praised Mr Hollande for the “courageous decision” to fight Islamic radical terrorists in Mali, and for the tough stance Paris has taken toward Syria and what he termed Iran’s continued attempts to get nuclear arms.

Mr Hollande saluted Israel as “a great democracy”, and, speaking in Hebrew, assured Mr Netanyahu he would “always remain a friend of Israel”. He said Paris pinned a lot of hopes on the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. “You will need courage,” he said. “But you have courage.”

Mr Netanyahu, who will also meet this week with Russian president Vladimir Putin and with Mr Kerry, argued it was not too late for the international community to push for a better deal when talks resume this week in Geneva because Iran is "under pressure". According to a report in Israel daily Maariv, Israel wants clauses in the emerging agreement to ensure the Arak heavy water reactor is kept shut and that uranium enriched to over 20 per cent be converted into fuel rods.

Today, Mr Hollande, along with Mr Fabius, will meet in Ramallah with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, before returning to Jerusalem to address the Knesset.