CLINTON SLAPPED - AT 2:58 P.M. ET:  This must be considered a put-down of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by the French, who apparently are not overwhelmed with this new administration:

A day after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton downplayed Iran's claim that it had developed new uranium enrichment technology, France expressed its concern over the assertion.

"These are worrying declarations," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told reporters. "We need to check the accuracy of the figures ... and for that we'll wait for the International Atomic Energy Agency."

Chevallier urged Teheran to submit to a full IAEA inspection regime at all its nuclear sites and halt its uranium enrichment program.

On Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced advances in the country's nuclear program, including the inauguration of a new nuclear-related facility and the testing of two types of high-capacity centrifuges that he said would speed up Iran's enrichment capacity.

COMMENT:  Clinton, in a display of foolishness, not only downplayed Iran's latest claim, but said that America didn't know what to make of the Iranian nuclear program.  (See our 7:38 a.m. post.)  The French are more vigorous.  We have a situation where the Obama administration, on some issues, may be to the left of Europe.  Incredible, isn't it?

April 10, 2009