 French President Jacques Chirac said on Sunday the West would still reach out to Iran for a deal on its disputed nuclear file, in the first address to the Saudi consultative council by a foreign leader. “In Iran, the voice of reason that France, the United Kingdom and Germany wanted to be heard on the nuclear file has not been heard, for the time being,” Chirac told the non-elected advisory council. But despite the failure of negotiations between Tehran and the European Union, “the hand remains stretched out, and Iran can, at any moment, take it back by restoring its commitment to suspension of sensitive (nuclear) work”. Chirac said Iran had been “assured that it can develop its nuclear capacity for civilian purposes”. |