France: West ‘Out of Options’ on Iran

Rules Out War or Concessions

Speaking today to France’s Agence France Presse (AFP), a top French official says that they believe the West has run “out of options” on Iran’s civilian nuclear program, with officials increasingly recognizing that idle threats aren’t working.

The official, who was not named, said that the military option has been virtually ruled out despite the number of US and Israeli hawks who continue to present it as a possibility.

But if threats don’t work, what’s left? “We have no other tools,” he warned, adding that “the only alternative would be to make concessions, and we’re not ready to do that.” The situation indeed appears to be stalemated, with Western officials demanding Iran abandon its civilian enrichment program entirely, and Iran insisting that they won’t do that.

New nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 are expected soon, with Iran saying they favor holding the meeting in Istanbul. But once again, the point of these talks must be questioned, since they seem certain to end with the US reiterated demands and threats and Iran rejecting both, a process which has played out regularly.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.