FRENCH ENVOY CONDEMNS IRAN STATEMENTS ON ISRAEL

French Envoy Condemns Iran Statements on Israel (AP)
French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani confirmed Monday that France's ambassador to Iran, Bernard Poletti, had been summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry to protest France's policy toward Iran's nuclear activities.

Andreani said Poletti took advantage of the summons to protest "unacceptable" comments Ahmadinejad made last week during a speech in Bushehr implying that Israel would be destroyed.

Poletti reiterated the French position that "the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israeli-Lebanese relations cannot serve as a pretext to question Israel's right to exist," Andreani said.

Last week, France's Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to Paris, Ali Ahani, to protest Ahmadinejad's comments.