The French President, Jacques Chirac, has said France would be ready to use nuclear weapons against any state that carried out a terrorist attack on its soil.
Mr Chirac said he reserved his country's right to use non-conventional weapons after any terrorist attack or an attack that used weapons of mass destruction.
It was the first time he clearly linked the threat of a nuclear response to a terrorist attack.
The French leader did not say whether France would be prepared to use pre-emptive strikes against a country it saw as a threat.
France has had nuclear weapons since the 1960s and experts believe it has some 300 nuclear warheads.
Call for restraint over Iran
China has called for restraint in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme.
The government in Beijing said it was waiting to see a draft resolution that seeks to bring Iran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.
China is one of the permanent members of the UNSC that can wield a veto over any proposals.
The other permanent members are the US, France, Britain and Russia.
It is thought that China, eager to get more access to Iran's oil and gas to feed its booming economic development, would be unlikely to support UN-imposed sanctions against Iran.
Iran ready to compromise
Iran's top nuclear negotiator has indicated that his country is ready to compromise over its nuclear programme.
Ali Larijani said Tehran was willing to discuss the outside world's concern about diversion of nuclear fuel for an alleged weapons programme and offer guarantees.
However, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, had earlier said there was no point in negotiations unless Iran offered fresh concrete proposals for talks.
Yesterday, Britain, France and Germany began circulating a draft resolution asking the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to refer Iran to the UNSC.
The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has criticised the draft, saying it is politically motivated.
The governing board of the IAEA is to hold a meeting on 2 February to discuss the issue.
