AFP: German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer expressed “great concern” about Iran’s nuclear technology programs but said he did not expect Western allies to go to war with Tehran over the issue.
“I do not think that we are heading anytime soon into a confrontation similar to the one in Iraq,” Fischer told German news weekly Stern in an issue to be published Thursday. AFP
BERLIN – German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer expressed “great concern” about Iran’s nuclear technology programs but said he did not expect Western allies to go to war with Tehran over the issue.
“I do not think that we are heading anytime soon into a confrontation similar to the one in Iraq,” Fischer told German news weekly Stern in an issue to be published Thursday.
“I think it is clear to all those involved that war is not an option,” he said, adding that he believed this was also the view held by the United States and Israel.
Fischer said he was nevertheless worried by Iran’s atomic ambitions, noting that Tehran acquiring a nuclear bomb “would have unforeseeable consequences in one of the most dangerous regions in the world”.
“That would not only threaten Israel but Europe as well.”
Fischer said Germany would continue to pursue talks with Iran along with its partners in Britain and France.
“The negotiations are difficult. The mistrust of Iran is justifiably large but a positive outcome is possible,” he said, adding that it was “too early” to discuss economic sanctions to put pressure on Tehran.
The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and wants the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board, which meets November 25, to refer the matter to the UN Security Council.
Iran and the European Union’s “big three” — Britain, France and Germany — managed to strike a tentative agreement Sunday centered on demands that Tehran maintain and widen a suspension of its sensitive uranium enrichment activities.
But the deal is subject to approval at the top of the Iranian regime.
