France sceptical on Iranian offer of IAEA surveillance

France expressed scepticism Tuesday about an Iranian offer to allow the International Energy Agency (IAEA) surveillance rights over all its nuclear sites in exchange for a lifting of UN sanctions placed on Iran for non-compliance with its international obligations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said that Iran had had ample opportunity to cooperate with the international community on a number of controversial issues related to uranium enrichment and suspicions Iran may be developing a weapons-grade, military potential. Iran denies the accusations that it is developing anything other than a civil, nuclear program. Nonetheless, the IAEA on September 2 expressed growing concern about signs and information that Iran may have nuclear weapons ambitions and is working "to put a payload on a missile." "For us, the priority is to demand, above all, that Iran respects international law," Valero stated. He said there were six UN resolutions and ten IAEA resolutions and "if Iran wants to do something, the first is to respect international law." He pointed out that "Iran is carrying out activities that not only cause concern in the international community but also endanger the international system of non-proliferation and the stability of the region." "We have a certain number of fears because while we are talking, while we are reflecting on responses to the Iranian authority, the centrifuges continue to function in Iran," the French official warned. "This is causing a lot of concern, as is the rising power of Iran's ballistic means...and the pursuit of Iranian activities relative to perfecting (systems) for putting a nuclear payload on a missile," Valero said, stressing this was specifically mentioned in the IAEA report last week. "We have given many opportunities to Iran to really engage in a constructive dialogue with the international community...but until now this has been systematically refused," the spokesman noted. "We are not going to dwell on this (Iranian) declaration...concerning a file that is grave and important," he said, adding that when Iran has made progress on all the pending issues, "we can comment the statements by one and the other."