Jacques Chirac told a group of reporters including from the NY Times, that it was no big deal if Iran developed one or two bombs, as it long as it didn’t lead to proliferation:
“I would say that what is dangerous about this situation is not the fact of having a nuclear bomb,” he said. “Having one or perhaps a second bomb a little later, well, that’s not very dangerous.”
Asked about fears of an Iranian nuclear attack against Israel, he replied:
“Where will it drop it, this bomb? On Israel?” Mr. Chirac asked. “It would not have gone 200 meters into the atmosphere before Tehran would be razed.”
Chirac retracted the comments the next day. He probably couldn’t reconcile the contradiction between his views on nuclear deterrence and proportionate response.
