Iran dismisses French warning over Israel

Iran has dismissed a warning by France's president that the Islamic Republic was taking a dangerous gamble over its nuclear program because of the possibility of an attack by Israel.

Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham accused Israel of threatening global peace but reiterated Tehran's publicly stated view that it was not in a position to attack Iran.

Western powers accuse Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, of seeking the atom bomb under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denies the charge, saying it only wants to master atomic technology in order to generate electricity.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action if the dispute cannot be settled through diplomacy.

During a visit to Damascus on Thursday, French president Nicolas Sarkozy said Iran was "taking a major risk in continuing the process to obtain a military nuclear capacity." He added: "One day ... we could find one morning that Israel has struck."

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB quoted Mr Elham, the government spokesman, as saying in response to Mr Sarkozy's statement:

"These threats are because of weakness...and it reflects the reality and the war-seeking nature of the Zionist regime."

Mr Elham added: "This regime is not big enough and does not have the capacity to want to think about a war with Iran."

He said Israel "uses every chance to threaten global security and peace".

AP