The advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on international affairs told reporters on Saturday France plays no determining role in the international arena, stressing the statements by French officials on the inspection of Iran's military sites bring no prestige to the European country and do not catch the attention of the international community.
Ali Akbar Velayati made the remarks in response to France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who said last Wednesday that Paris would not back any nuclear deal with Iran unless it provided full access to all Iranian installations.
"France will not accept (a deal) if it is not clear that inspections can be done at all Iranian installations, including military sites," Reuters quoted Fabius as saying.
"Some irresponsible individuals make such claims to please certain parties in the region on the one hand, and to conduct trade with them (on the other), without adopting a realistic approach," Velayati noted, expressing the hope that instead of following other western powers, France will take a more independent stance like the one it used to take in the past.
Fabius also said he wanted other countries negotiating with Iran over its nuclear activity, namely Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States, to adopt the same position as those of France. "Yes to an agreement, but no to an agreement that will enable Iran to have the atomic bomb. That is the position of France which is independent and peaceful," he said.
Iran denies its nuclear program may have any military objectives, saying the work is meant only for peaceful applications such as generating electricity.
Elsewhere, the director of the Center for Strategic Research of the Expediency Council and former foreign minister pointed to the latest developments in Yemen, hailing the resistance of the Yemeni nation.
He condemned the Saudi bombing of the defenseless nation and said, "Such crimes do not stop the Yemeni people from putting up resistance," adding that they will undoubtedly be the final winner in the battlefield. Velayati said in line with the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Republic lends its supports to the oppressed nations in the Muslim world and protects them against tyranny.
