France skeptical about possible Iran deal, Laurent Fabius: ‘A fool’s game’.

France skeptical about possible Iran deal, Fabius: ‘A fool’s game’.(RT).

While diplomatic heavyweights from US, Russia, China, UK and Germany are calling to seize the moment and seal a deal with Iran, Paris has voiced its doubts. Urging caution, Fabius told French radio that there were still pressing issues that needed to be resolved before any agreement could be struck.

“There are still a couple of points that we are not satisfied with,” Laurent told French radio station France Inter, adding that the Arak nuclear plant and the 20 percent enriched uranium stock were of particular concern to France.
"We are for an agreement, that's clear. But the agreement has got to be serious and credible. The initial text made progress but not enough," he said, adding the France should avoid falling for “a fool’s game.”
The international community suspects that Iran is enriching uranium with a view to creating atomic weapons, something that Tehran has always denied. To allay these fears the Iranian government has offered a number of concessions, including reducing uranium enrichment to 5 percent, far from the 20 percent necessary for the construction of a nuclear bomb, according to the UK’s Telegraph newspaper.
In addition, Iran said it would not activate its plutonium reactor at Arak for a period of six months and limit the use of its centrifuges.
In return, Iran asks that financial sanctions that have crippled its economy be removed.
France also said that Israel’s security concerns could not be ignored at the Geneva talks. Earlier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned US Secretary of State John Kerry and his European counterparts that Israel rejects any deal with Iran. Moreover, Netanyahu said that the international community should accept nothing less than the total disbandment of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Israeli government has called for the world not to be fooled by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s “charm offensive.”

“One should not be taken in by Rouhani’s deceptive words,” Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “The same Rouhani boasted in the past how he deceived the international community with nuclear talks, even as Iran was continuing with its nuclear program.” 

'Seize the moment'

In response to Netanyahu’s concerns, US diplomats said it was too early to criticize what is still being deliberated.

Representatives from the UK, Germany, France and US arrived in Geneva for talks Friday that were described as "making progress.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov joined the negotiations Saturday, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wan Yi was also expected to arrive later Saturday.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague called for a final push toward a deal with Iran, telling reporters "we must do everything we can to seize the moment.” However, he conceded that any agreement would involve a measure of flexibility from all sides.
If an agreement were reached in Geneva it would end a decade-long diplomatic deadlock with Iran. Previous meetings were often marked by the absence of one or more of the attending countries’ top diplomats, but this time all are in attendance.

‘Good cop, bad cop’

Political analyst Robert Harneis told RT that France is adopting a good cop, bad cop strategy with the US to make Washington look better.

“Obama is suddenly being much more reasonable in his attitude with the Iranians, and the French are out there on the flanks saying: “Oh, you mustn’t agree too easily, Israel must be protected,” said Haneis, adding that the “considerable” Jewish lobby in France had a hand in the French sympathizing with Israel.

However, Harneis said an agreement could be clinched Saturday as it was in the Americans’ interests.
“It could be that there’s a real revolution taking place and the Americans are going to change their stance because they need to do business with Iran,” Harneis told RT.