French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has told Europe-1 Radio that unspecified experts have “established in an absolutely indisputable way” that Iran will be able to produce a nuclear weapon by early 2013.

Mr Fabius added that Iran has a full set of centrifuges that “apparently will allow the ability to go towards the possession of the nuclear weapon by the first half of next year, the end of the first half.”

Iran claims its enrichment project is for peaceful purposes, however many suspect that their aim is to produce nuclear missiles. Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, supports taking a harder line on Iran involving setting clear red lines, while the United States is pushing ahead with a programme of sanctions on the regime.