French President Hollande in Israel to discuss Iran
Iran Press TV
Sun Nov 17, 2013 1:33PM GMT
French President Francois Hollande has arrived in Israel for a three-day visit which will be dominated by Iran's nuclear issue ahead of next week's talks in Geneva.
Hollande was welcomed on Sunday by Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We are full of admiration for your unflinching stance to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon for mass destruction," Peres claimed.
France has been blamed for spoiling the nuclear talks which are to resume again in Geneva on November 20.
Netanyahu has urged France not to soften its stance towards Iran in the upcoming talks scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday.
"We hope that France will not yield," Netanyahu told French-language daily Le Figaro in an interview published on Saturday.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain -- plus Germany did not reach a deal in the Swiss city of Geneva over Tehran's nuclear energy program, but stressed that significant progress had been made and expressed optimism about the prospect of achieving a deal.
On November 14, French Ambassador to Israel Patrick Maisonnave said his country takes into account the Zionist regime's security in any diplomatic affair involving Iran.
"We have always been on the Israeli side when it comes to Iran or Israel's security," Maisonnave added.
In recent days, Netanyahu has repeatedly warned the six world powers against striking a "bad and dangerous" nuclear deal with Iran.
As recently as Wednesday, he warned that such a "bad deal" may trigger a war.
KA/HGH/SS
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