Morin said that speculation of a looming conflict was "fantasy".

"Nobody should think for a single instant that we are imagining and preparing military plans concerning Iran," Morin said in an interview with Canal Plus television.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner unleashed a diplomatic controversy at the weekend when he said the world should prepare for a possible "war" over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment that many western countries believe hides efforts to build a nuclear bomb.

France is also pressing for stronger UN sanctions against Iran, though Kouchner has since eased his stance saying that intense negotiations with Iran must be used first.

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