Though the comments were nominally presented as his own commitment to stop Irans civilian nuclear program, French President Francois Hollandes specific assurances were actually made on behalf of the US Senate, and not France at all.During his media meet and greet, Hollande insisted that the US Senate was determined to move against Iran with more sanctions andwould squash the Iranian economyto punish them for evading negotiations with the P5+1.
The P5+1 talks have been stalled for a few days after the US imposed new sanctions, something Russia and Iran both warned was in violation of the spirit of the interim agreement. Irans negotiator says thetalks will resume in a matter of days.
Hollandes comments suggest he retains a substantial chip on his shoulder about the whole process, havingattempted to kill the interim dealin early November. For now he seems content to wait on US Congressional hawks to try to derail the talks, but this also suggests France will remain an obstacle to any final pact.
By Antiwar
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