French and British intelligence chiefs warn about Iran's nuclear threat

British and French intelligence chiefs have warned of the threat posed by Iran potentially developing nuclear weapons. At the same time, European and Iranian diplomats met in Geneva on Friday for uneventful talks.

"Our services are working side by side to face what is undoubtedly one of the threats, if not to say the most critical threat, in the coming months - the possible atomic proliferation in Iran," Nicolas Lerner, who heads France’s DGSE, said at the British embassy in Paris alongside his British counterpart Richard Moore.

“The intelligence will be crucial to enable our authorities to make the right decisions and define the right strategies,” Lerner said in rare public comments.

The head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service known as MI6, echoed those comments. "The regime's nuclear ambitions continue to threaten all of us, especially friends of France and the UK in the Gulf region," Moore said.

“Iran’s allied militias across the Middle East have suffered serious blows,” he added. “But the regime’s nuclear ambitions continue to threaten all of us.”

The comments by the intelligence chiefs and Iran’s meeting with the United Kingdom, France and Germany came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors passed a resolution, proposed by the UK, France, and Germany, criticizing Tehran's lack of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

The resolution emphasized the urgent need for Tehran to cooperate with the IAEA and called on IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to prepare a comprehensive report on the status of Iran's nuclear program.

The censure resolution has set the stage for a new phase in the dispute over Iran's activities which could lead toward more sanctions through the activation of so-called "snapback mechanism".

The purpose of the Geneva meeting, the first such talks since Trump's election victory, was to assess the feasibility of engaging in serious negotiations before the official inauguration of the new US president on January 20, Reuters reported. The United States had previously announced it would not participate in the Geneva meeting.