Hollande assures Netanyahu that France stays tough on Iran
France will remain "tough" on Iran despite the conciliatory stance of its new President Hassan Rouhani, French President François Hollande assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Friday. In an interview with RFI's sister TV channel, France24, this week Netanyahu told Paris to ignore "Rouhani's smiles".
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Hollande told Netanyahu that he will wait to see if Rouhani's apparent moderation translates into deeds.
In the France24 interview the Israeli leader complimented France on being "tough" on Mali and Syria and urged a similar firmness on Iran's nuclear programme.
Netanyahu last week gave interviews to a number of European newmedia ahead of next week's meeting in Geneva of the P5+1 group - made up of the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - which is negotiating with Iran over its nuclear programme.
His aim was to try to convince leaders not to trust hints of change from Tehran.
His comments came after a historic handshake between the French and Iranian leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.
Netanyahu and Hollande discussed the P5+1 meeting, an Israeli diplomat told the AFP news agency, adding that Hollande is planning a visit to Israel next month.
Rouhani wants US-led international sanctions lifted and says he wants a quick deal to end a stalemate in talks on the nuclear programme that have dragged on for eight years.
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