US-French Push for Iran Sanctions ‘Within Weeks’

The US and France have vowed to work together to push for new UN sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, reports BBC News.

After talks in Washington with French leader Nicolas Sarkozy, US President Barack Obama said he hoped to have the sanctions in place "within weeks." Sarkozy, in turn, promised to take "all necessary efforts to make sure Europe as a whole engaged in the sanctions regime."

In a joint news conference with Sarkozy at the White House, Obama said he was not interested in waiting months for new sanctions.

"My hope is that we are going to get this done this spring," he said. "I am interested in seeing that regime in place within weeks."

For his part, Sarkozy said Iran could not continue its "mad race" to try to complete its suspect nuclear program.

"The time has come to take decisions. Iran cannot continue its mad race," said Sarkozy, adding that he would work with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to get European backing for the sanctions regime.

Angela Merkel has suggested that if the UN Security Council cannot agree on the matter, Germany and other like-minded countries might pursue their own sanctions.