PARIS: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe Tuesday accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons and called for stronger sanctions against the country. He said the European Union should follow the American lead in freezing Iranian central bank assets and imposing an embargo on oil exports.
US president Barack Obama last week signed into law a bill targeting Iran's central bank.
"Iran is pursuing the development of its nuclear arms, I have no doubt about it," Juppe told French television I-Tele.
"The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency is quite explicit on this point. This is why France, without closing the path of negotiation and dialogue with Iran, wants stricter sanctions," he said.
Juppe said French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for an embargo on Iranian oil and a freeze of assets belonging to Iran's central bank.
Iran has denied it was making nuclear weapons.