Paris, June 11 (IANS): French government Tuesday said Iran has to accept western powers' proposal to have few hundred centrifuges if it wants the due talks for a lasting deal on its nuclear programme to succeed.
In an interview with local radio France Inter, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said major powers "still hitting a wall on one absolutely fundamental point which is the number of centrifuges which allow enrichment", Xinhua reported.
"We say that there can be a few hundred centrifuges, but the Iranians want thousands so we're not in the same framework," the minister said.
"Obviously, if the Iranians maintain their position, what is the purpose of having thousands of centrifuges if we're not heading towards an atomic bomb?" the minister asked.
Last November, the US, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia and Iran reached in Geneva an accord aimed at curbing Tehran's disputed nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
According to the deal, Iran has been committed to halting enrichment above 5 percent and neutralising its stockpile of near 20 percent uranium by means of dilution or converting and to not installing more centrifuges.
"So the question that will be asked in the coming weeks is whether Iran is really ready to accept to give up the atomic bomb or not," Fabius said.
Iran has been a target of UN sanctions due to its alleged attempts of building nuclear weapons.
A new round of talks between P5 1 countries and Iran is scheduled June 16 in Switzerland to reach a lasting deal, needed to avoid further sanction.