Dealing with Iran, France and Israel

by James A. Russell | http://www.lobelog.com/dealing-with-iran-france-and-israel/
Since the high-level talks that occurred in Geneva, conflicting messages have surfaced on what really stopped a groundbreaking deal over Iran’s nuclear program from being signed this weekend. On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry said it was Iran and not France who could not accept the final draft of an agreement. That same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif indirectly replied through his official Twitter account that a deal only began to fall apart after French objections. Whatever the case, there is little reason to doubt that France’s objections in some way impeded the deal that so many were expecting; Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was, after all, the most vocal in opposing one save for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With that in mind, it’s interesting to consider France and Israel’s previous stances on nuclear issues.