Sarkozy, the interior minister and a top contender in elections in April and May, called Iran’s nuclear program one of the world’s key challenges as he laid out his foreign policy proposals for a France with him at the helm.
On Monday, Sarkozy said that under him, France would not join the United States if it decided to carry out military action in Iran, and said U.S. hints it had not ruled out military action there were "useless posturing."
At a news conference Wednesday, Sarkozy expressed support for the U.N. sanctions imposed on Iran for defying Security Council demands to halt uranium enrichment.
"I want to go as far as possible with sanctions," said Sarkozy, who is France’s interior minister. "I did not say we should rule out other options."
He did not elaborate, however, on what those other options could be, and he cautioned against repeating "what happened in Iraq." France led international opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Sarkozy has set himself apart from President Jacques Chirac by calling for closer ties with the United States, expressing strong support for Israel and criticizing what he calls an "arrogant France" when it comes to foreign affairs.
On Wednesday, he called French-US friendship "a necessity for the balance of the world." But he added: "Friendship is being able to tell the truth when they are wrong. … Friendship is respect, comprehension, affection. Frendship is not submission."
World powers are discussing stronger sanctions against Iran for continuing to defy demands to stop enriching uranium. Iran insists it is only seeking nuclear energy but the international community fears it is seeking nuclear weapons.
"The prospect of an Iran with nuclear missiles is not acceptable," Sarkozy said. It is a "constant threat for the existence of Israel and southeast Europe," he said.
Sarkozy defended France’s own nuclear deterrent as "an absolute imperative. It is our life insurance," he said.
He sketched out plans for an active French role in world affairs, but one that leans heavily on U.S. and European allies.