French President Nicolas Sarkozy claims there will be a risk of war with Iran if Israel believes Tehran 'is threatening its security'.

In an interview with Le Nouvel Observateur, Sarkozy said France was more worried about tensions between Iran and Israel than between Iran and the United States.

Sarkozy said he was never in favor of war, adding that 'the problem for us is not so much the risk that the Americans could launch a military attack' but that the Israelis consider their security threatened.

Despite a recent report by the US intelligence community reaffirming that Iran was not pursuing a military nuclear program, Sarkozy claimed that the general belief was that the country's nuclear activities had no civilian explanation.

"The only debate is whether they will have military capability in one year or in five years," Sarkozy concluded.

Although the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) confirmed the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities, hawkish US politicians continue to threaten Tehran with a new round of sanctions and military attacks.

CS/HGH/RE