France wants to bring together members of the U.N. Security Council in light of the International Atomic Energy Agency report which claimed that Iran has worked to develop an atomic bomb design, Al-Arabiya reported on Wednesday.

“Convening of the U.N. Security Council is called for,” Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told RFI radio, adding that pressure needed to be ramped up on Iran and that France was willing to go further with sanctions.

“We cannot accept this situation which is a threat,” said Juppe, adding that France was ready to toughen sanctions, Reuters reported.
 “We need hard sanctions that prevent Iran from continuing to obtain resources that allow it to pursue its activities in violation of all international rules,” said Juppe.

The European Union also said on Tuesday that the IAEA report seriously raises concern over Iran nuclear drive.

The report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog cited what it called credible information from member states and elsewhere.

It included a series of activities applicable to developing nuclear weapons, such as high explosives testing and development of an atomic bomb trigger, AFP reported.

Although it stopped short of bluntly accusing Iran of trying to make nuclear weapons, it said it appeared activities had been carried out that included computer modeling of a nuclear warhead, explosives tests, and studying how to arm a medium-range missile with an atomic warhead.

But calling the report “a real source of worry,” Defense Minister Gerard Lonquet reiterated the need for tougher sanctions.

He told Canal+ television it was necessary to convince China and Russia, which are likely to oppose a fifth Security Council sanctions resolution against Iran, AFP reported.
“We need hard sanctions that prevent Iran from continuing to obtain resources that allow it to pursue its activities in violation of all international rules,” said Juppe.

The report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog − citing what it called credible information from member states and elsewhere − listed a series of activities applicable to developing nuclear weapons, such as high explosives testing and development of an atomic bomb trigger.

Although it stopped short of bluntly accusing Iran of trying to make nuclear weapons, it said it appeared activities had been carried out that included computer modeling of a nuclear warhead, explosives tests, and studying how to arm a medium-range missile with an atomic warhead.

But calling the report “a real source of worry,” Defense Minister Gerard Lonquet reiterated the need for tougher sanctions.

He told Canal+ television it was necessary to convince China and Russia, which are likely to oppose a fifth Security Council sanctions resolution against Iran.
U.S. sanctions on Iran
In growing international condemnation of Iran’s involvement with nuclear weaponry, the United States also warned on Tuesday that it would ratchet up pressure and ready new sanctions on Iran after the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s report.

The report prompted Republican hawks to demand “crippling” economic retaliation from the White House, and came as rumors of a possible Israeli military strike on Tehran also assailed the White House.

A senior U.S. official said Iran must answer concerns raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and said Washington would consult with partners on “additional” pressure and sanctions on the Iranian government.

“We don’t take anything off the table when we look at sanctions. We believe there is a broad spectrum of action we could take,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

“We fully anticipate ratcheting up our pressure. We also want to make sure that what we are doing is to coordinate with other countries.”

Another senior official said that the report echoed “very serious concerns” in Washington about Iran’s nuclear program.

He noted findings that Iran had carried out a “structured” program under its ministry of defense from the late 1990s to 2003 on developing a nuclear warhead.

The official also expressed concerned that while the report did not say Iran had resumed that program, there were some indications that “activities of concern” could be continuing.

But the official also noted the report left questions about the current state of the program unanswered.

“The report does not assert, doesn’t make any judgment about how advanced Iran is in their program,” the official said.

“(It) certainly doesn’t assert that Iran has mastered all the necessary technologies and we agree with that assessment.”