France urges halt to Iran's "dangerous activities"

PARIS, Apr 12 (Reuters) Iran's announcement that it has enriched uranium is worrying and Tehran should stop its ''dangerous activities,'' French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in a statement today.

Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting that Tehran's enrichment activities were ''a step in the wrong direction.'' ''The announcement by the Iranian authorities of the starting of 164 centrifuges is worrying,'' Douste-Blazy said. ''If this announcement is confirmed, it goes squarely against the repeated demands of the IAEA and the United Nations Security Council.'' The foreign minister repeated France's call for Tehran to ''suspend its dangerous activities so as to reestablish relations of confidence with the international community.'' President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday said Iran had enriched uranium for the first time and would press ahead with industrial-scale enrichment, keeping the country on a collision course with the United Nations.

REUTERS SI PC1650