The French presidential office on Thursday published a statement for "reaffirming in the clearest way" the French policy on Iran, following the polemic triggered by an interview of President Jacques Chirac by American and French media.

"France, with the international community, can not accept the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran and call on Iran to respect its commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, while reaffirming Iran's right to nuclear energy for civilian use," said the statement.

Three European countries, France, Germany and Britain, together with Russia, China and the United States made a proposal to Iran in 2006 of the cooperation in civilian, economic and secure use of nuclear energy.

Chirac said on Monday in an interview to two American newspaper New York Times and the International Herald Tribune and the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur that the fact Iran possesses a nuclear bomb would not be "very dangerous," and Teheran will be " razed" if Iran launches a nuclear attack on Israel, before " rectifying" his comments on Tuesday, according to these media, which devoted big coverage to Chirac's comments.

Source: Xinhua