Iran Fires Back at Sarkozy

An Iranian official said Saturday that there was “no value” in French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s statement that the Middle Eastern nation posed a threat to Europe’s security, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, March 21).

“The Islamic republic has always been a center of stability and peace-seeking in the region and its foreign policy is completely in line with international criteria,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini.

Sarkozy on Friday announced that France would reduce its nuclear arsenal to fewer than 300 warheads.  He said, though, that his nation must maintain some level of deterrent in the face of increasing Iranian missile capabilities and remaining questions about the nature of its nuclear program (see related GSN story, today).

Iran has developed missiles with varying flight ranges (see GSN, Sept. 24, 2007).  Its Shahab 3 ballistic missile is believed capable of reaching Israel and southern Europe, AFP reported.

“The Islamic republic intends to upgrade its capabilities,” Hosseini said.  “But drawing a parallel between these progresses and possible threats is inappropriate and invalid” (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, March 22).

Russia, meanwhile, responded more positively to Sarkozy’s call for negotiations on a treaty to ban short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, RIA Novosti reported.

“We welcome proposals designed to strengthen international security,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.  “Regarding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, President Vladimir Putin proposed making obligations under it binding for all countries at a meeting with the U.S. defense and foreign secretaries” last October (see GSN, Oct. 12, 2007; RIA Novosti, March 21).

The U.S. State Department on Friday did not respond directly to the French president’s request that China and the United States ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Associated Press reported.  The two nuclear powers are among the nine nations that must ratify the pact for it to enter into force (see GSN, Feb. 26).

“I haven’t seen his comments, but the United States has not conducted a weapons test in a couple decades, as far as I know,” said spokesman Sean McCormack.

Chinese and U.S. ratification of the treaty would “put pressure on countries that have been building things that look like test sites, like the North Koreans or, indeed, the Iranians,” said French defense expert Francois Heisbourg.

Those two nations, along with nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, could also face pressure should Sarkozy’s proposed short- and medium-rang missile pact ever come into existence, Heisbourg said.  They would have to join the treaty or “pay a political price,” he said.

Heisbourg said upgrades to France’s fleet of military aircraft allowed the nation to reduce its nuclear arsenal, AP reported.  The size of the stockpile has been estimated at nearly 350 strategic warheads, most of which are carried by submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

“When you have better planes taking over for older planes, you can afford to reduce the numbers,” Heisbourg said.

“That doesn’t make us virtuous guys in itself, although of course it’s nicer to say the numbers are going down than the numbers are going up,” he added.  “What does make us more virtuous than we were before is by saying ‘By the way, that means we’re going to have 300.’  And the meaning is, ‘Oh by the way, dear Chinese friends, you better tell us how many you’ve got’” (John Leicester, Associated Press/ABC News, March 21).

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