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French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. (Reuters)
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French FM: World must prepare for possible war with Iran
By News Agencies

The world must "must prepare for the worst" - including the possibility of war - in light of the Iranian nuclear crisis, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Sunday.

"We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst, sir, is war," Kouchner said in an interview on LCI television and RTL radio.

Kouchner's comments follow a similarly hawkish statement by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said last month in his first major foreign policy speech since taking office that a diplomatic push by the world's powers was the only alternative to "an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran."

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France has said repeatedly it wants the United Nations Security Council to pass tougher sanctions against Iran over its failure to dispel fears that it is secretly pursuing nuclear weapons.

"We do not want to signal anything other than 'peace is in your interest, and in ours too,'" Kouchner said.

Asked whether he believed U.S. President George W. Bush would launch air strikes against Iran before the end of his term of office, he said: "Honestly, I don't think we've reached that stage, not at all. At least I hope so."

Kouchner also said Sunday that France had advised its large companies not to respond to tenders in Iran and repeated a call for greater pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.

The French foreign minister said the companies that had been contacted were free to decide what to do.

"We have already asked a certain number of our large companies to not respond to tenders, and it is a way of signalling that we are serious," Kouchner said.

"We are not banning French companies from submitting. We have advised them not to. These are private companies. But I think that it has been heard and we are not the only ones to have done this."

Iranian minister: Russian nuclear fuel ready to ship to Iran
Enriched uranium fuel is ready to be shipped from Russia to Iran's first nuclear power plant, state television on Sunday quoted Iran's foreign minister as saying.

The announcement comes after talks in Moscow between minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Russian nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko to address delays in completing the US$1 billion (720 million) joint Iranian-Russian Bushehr power plant.

Nuclear fuel for this power plant, inspected and sealed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, is ready, the broadcast quoted Mottaki as saying late on Saturday. We do see the trend of cooperation between Iran and Russia moving ahead for the Bushehr power plant.

The project, Iran's first nuclear power plant, has been beset by repeated delays due to payment problems on the Iranian side, according to the Russians. Tehran, however, maintains it is because Moscow has been caving into Western pressure to halt the project.

The United States maintains that Iran's nuclear power program is a cover for developing weapons and has called for further sanctions, while Tehran denies the charges and insists it just wants to master the technology to meet future power needs under the provisions of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

While Russia has continued to oppose a U.S. push for tougher sanctions against Tehran, Russian officials have shown growing irritation with Iran's refusal to freeze its own uranium enrichment effort. Moscow appears to be using its control over the Bushehr project to press Iran for concessions on its nuclear program.

A European diplomat last month said that Moscow had warned Tehran it would not deliver fuel to the plant unless Tehran lifts the veil of secrecy on suspicious past atomic activities. The IAEA has since reported increased cooperation from the Iranians over its program.

Russian officials say the plant cannot open until six months after fuel is delivered.

Enriched to a low degree, uranium is used as a reactor fuel; higher enrichment creates material for a nuclear warhead.

In a separate report, state television said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had offered his country's nuclear experience to Saudi Arabia.
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  1.   Nukes Shipment 15:23  |  Mary 16/09/07
  2.   Kouchner is right. Russia must stop fueling Iranian warmongers 20:22  |  Briton 16/09/07
  3.   Respnse to Mary 20:22  |  Ron 16/09/07
  4.   US regime believes that 20:24  |  Mark Lincoln 16/09/07
  5.   #4 in the armpit of texas 20:47  |  Mike 16/09/07
  6.   The French!! 20:48  |  James MacMahon 16/09/07
  7.   response to us regime 21:06  |  madeline 16/09/07
  8.   I`m surprised 21:17  |  Yonatan 16/09/07
  9.   Iran,France,Israel,Russia, and the Usa 21:25  |  Kipperraes 16/09/07
  10.   Finally the French have found their spine in their spleen. 21:27  |  Panther 16/09/07
  11.   Iran is next 21:30  |  US Neocon 16/09/07
  12.   Mark, Mike, politics is stupid! 21:49  |  Denton 16/09/07
  13.   It is well known that both Bouchner& Srakozky are pro israel and 22:02  |  lakshmi 16/09/07
  14.   How exactly does the world prepare for 22:06  |  spyguy 16/09/07
  15.   # 11 us neocon 22:07  |  Axel 16/09/07
  16.   # 8 yonatan 22:10  |  Axel 16/09/07
  17.   response to mary II 22:13  |  Hub 16/09/07
  18.   IT IS THE WORST 22:20  |  FRED 16/09/07
  19.   why does iran want to destroy the world? 22:46  |  maria 16/09/07
  20.   # 16 on Kouchner 23:09  |  Ariel 16/09/07
  21.   You`re right Lakshmi the world is pro Israel 23:10  |  Wolf 16/09/07
  22.   Iraq is controlled by Iran 23:12  |  Meyer 16/09/07
  23.   Mark Lincoln 23:12  |  Jasmine Murphy 16/09/07
  24.   Fwench are becoming French again (end-of-message) 23:30  |  Gaby 16/09/07
  25.   #13 - lakshmi 23:53  |  Maurice 16/09/07
  26.   France, Germany, And Spain Awake! England Still Sleepy! 23:59  |  Yosemite 16/09/07
  27.   To Maria 00:13  |  Persian Kitty 17/09/07
  28.   Viva Kouchner!- France is Back 00:14  |  DK 17/09/07
  29.   #4- Fuzzy Thinking, Mark Lincoln? 00:28  |  Yoram 17/09/07
  30.   Does anyone remember Chirac? 00:33  |  martyrmaker 17/09/07
  31.   25Maurice,virtually every respected news outlet is aware that the 00:48  |  lakshmi 17/09/07
  32.   Yosemite # 26 00:49  |  Philippe 17/09/07
  33.   THE French have noted Ahmadinejad on his nation of maryrs rant 00:49  |  PETER S .M. 17/09/07
  34.   #1 Mary - I`ll explain it to you 00:53  |  * BEN JABO 17/09/07
  35.   DK # 28 00:53  |  Philippe 17/09/07
  36.   #13 lakshmi - it`s obvious 01:01  |  * BEN JABO 17/09/07
  37.   Allons Nos Citoyens 01:03  |  Mark of Lewiston 17/09/07
  38.   #16 Axel - you really are uninformed 01:04  |  * BEN JABO 17/09/07
  39.   FRANCE WILL PAY!!! 01:11  |  Samy 17/09/07
  40.   lakshmi`s only aim to Jew hatred 01:54  |  Shafrir Yisraeli 17/09/07
  41.   # 4 Mark Lincoln - With all due respect 01:58  |  17 17/09/07
  42.   Oh what good news, finally France is on the side of the light 02:03  |  Johnny 17/09/07
  43.   spyguy-We Must Do What Must Be Done 02:04  |  Jane 17/09/07
  44.   US Neocon #11, AMEN 02:04  |  Johnny 17/09/07
  45.   french is stupid 02:11  |  amin 17/09/07
  46.   Persian Kitty - I pulled your dew claws 02:19  |  * BEN JABO 17/09/07
  47.   NATO intercepting Iran arms shipments to Taliban help explain 02:22  |  PETER S.M. 17/09/07
  48.   Maria #19, why do Iran want to destroy the world 02:27  |  Johnny 17/09/07
  49.   AXEL @16 Re"NOBODY has pointed out--".Please explain 02:29  |  PETER S.M. 17/09/07
  50.   Oh my, need to write one more, this citation 02:37  |  Johnny 17/09/07
  51.   Bombing Nuclear facilities 04:16  |  Neil 17/09/07
  52.   French hypocrites 04:55  |  American Zionist 17/09/07
  53.   To Ben Jabo 04:56  |  Persian Kitty 17/09/07
  54.   Bombing if Iran 05:09  |  Mike 17/09/07
  55.   #39 - Beware Samy! 05:55  |  Eric 17/09/07
  56.   * BEN JABO # 38 - They Called People Jews And Sent Them To 05:56  |  Eli 17/09/07
  57.   Samy # 39 06:03  |  Philippe 17/09/07
  58.   Is He Also Half Jewish? 06:04  |  JJ 17/09/07
  59.   Mark of Lewiston # 37 06:06  |  Philippe 17/09/07
  60.   The choices 06:06  |  danite 17/09/07
  61.   #31 - Lakshmi 06:11  |  Maurice 17/09/07
  62.   Samy 06:25  |  Yosemite 17/09/07
  63.   And so too, Lakshmi... 06:35  |  JES 17/09/07
  64.   #56 Eli re: Axel 06:39  |  * BEN JABO 17/09/07
  65.   #53 Persian Kitty 06:42  |  * BEN JABO 17/09/07
  66.   NEIL lots of dead are"entertaining for us in NZ" 06:44  |  PETER SM 17/09/07
  67.   Maurice # 31 - Russia Will Put Up With Iran Only 06:46  |  Eli 17/09/07
  68.   #39 - Dear Samy 06:51  |  JES 17/09/07
  69.   Maurice re: Lakshmi 31 06:59  |  ex-persian citizen 17/09/07
  70.   persian kitty...am I complaining? 06:59  |  maria 17/09/07
  71.   Lakshmi - You Are So Enamoured By Iran 07:01  |  Eli 17/09/07
  72.   Attack on Iran 07:05  |  Cassandra 17/09/07
  73.   #52 American Zionist 07:07  |  from Canada 17/09/07
  74.   59 Philippe 07:07  |  Mark of Lewiston 17/09/07
  75.   Danite - One More Choice 07:10  |  Mark of Lewiston 17/09/07
  76.   Response To Lakshmi 07:16  |  The Real Iran!!!! 17/09/07
  77.   Response to Panther, Lincoln, Madeline 07:20  |  American in Paris 17/09/07
  78.   Good...I`ll be first in line at the recruiting station 07:29  |  Ryan 17/09/07
  79.   #58 07:50  |  JES 17/09/07
  80.   BULLY, AGAIN, NOTHING BUT BULLYING 07:51  |  indrajaya