U.S. President George W. Bush's administration is facing "a potential break" with France over Iran's nuclear issue after French President Jacques Chirac said on Monday that he is "never in favor of sanctions," the Washington Post said in Tuesday.

Chirac made the remarks one day before his meeting with Bush who is also to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Some U.S. officials both publicly and privately played down Chirac's comments. But others said that the remarks took them by surprise and that they would seek an explanation from France at meetings on Tuesday, the Washington Post said.

"I believe that on the one hand that Iran and the six countries must first establish a schedule for negotiation, then must embark on negotiations," Chirac said, apparently referring to setting up an agenda for the talks.

"And during these negotiations, I suggest that on the one hand the six give up on referring the matter to the Security Council and that Iran should give up the enrichment of uranium for the duration of the negotiations."

Chirac's comments Monday were sometimes imprecise, leaving them open to interpretation, the Washington Post said.

U.S. officials chose to focus on half of his statement -- his call for Iran to suspend its nuclear program -- to argue that Chirac was not changing the terms of the agreement.

However, Nile Gardiner, a foreign policy expert at the conservative heritage Foundation, said Chirac's remarks were "deeply unhelpful" to U.S. efforts to secure international support for sanctions against Iran.

"It will generally reduce the likelihood of a UN Security Council resolution," he said. "The French are going to fight tooth and nail against the imposition of European sanctions, which is certainly a big blow to the U.S. and Britain."

The UN Security Council demands that Iran suspend its nuclear activities by Aug. 31. In its Resolution 1696, the Security Council for the first time makes legally binding demands on Iran and a threat of sanctions. Iran refuses to suspend its uranium enrichment.

The United States has been trying to have sanctions on Iran, possibly beginning with cutting Tehran's access to international finances. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was "quite, quite certain" that the UN Security Council will support the sanctions in light of Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment as called for under the UN resolution adopted in July.

Source: Xinhua