Iran and France were engaged in a furious war of words today after Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, gave warning that Tehran would be attacked if it built a nuclear bomb.

In the latest rhetorical salvo fired at Iran from President Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration, Mr Kouchner said that Tehran would become a “real danger for the whole world” if it acquired an atomic weapon.

“We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war,” said the minister, one of the few prominent figures in France who supported the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The sabre-rattling provoked an angry response from Tehran, where the Foreign Ministry spokesman accused Paris of abandoning the European Union’s search for a diplomatic solution.

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Sarkozy believes that the biggest international danger at the moment is the threat of a confrontation between Islam and the West

Charles Bremner, Times Paris correspondent

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“The use of such words creates tensions and is contrary to the cultural history and civilisation of France,” said Mohammad Ali Hosseini. “The fact that the declarations of French officials are in line with the position of the dominant power (America) damages the credibility of France with respect to public opinion, especially in the Middle East.”

The bellicose remarks pleased Israel but stunned some of France’s allies, who had grown accustomed to Paris taking an opposing position to the Bush Administration in Middle East, during Jacques Chirac’s leadership.

Since Mr Sarkozy came to power in May, however, France has hardened its attitude towards Iran. In a speech last month to French ambassadors, the new French leader said that the world faced a "catastrophic choice" between "an Iranian bomb or the bombardment of Iran".

Today Francois Fillon, the French Prime Minister, said that he situation had reached “an extreme point”. Paris is now pressing for unilateral EU sanctions against Tehran.

IRNA, Iran’s state news agency, lashed out at the French, describing the Elysee Palace’s policy as “harder, even more inflammatory and more illogical than that of Washington”.

France’s new hard-nosed position is probably best explained by its traditional alliance to the Arab world and its wish to improve relations with America and Israel.

Both Arabs and Israelis are fearful of a resurgent Iran, particularly if the Islamic republic expands its uranium enrichment programme. Iran insists it wants only to produce its own nuclear fuel for civilian reactors. Many in the region, and in Washington, fear the project is a cover to acquire highly enriched uranium needed for an atomic warhead.

Efforts by France, Britain, Germany, America, Russia and China to persuade Iran to abandon its enrichment work have so far failed, in spite of limited sanctions being imposed against Tehran by the United Nations Security Council.

France has in the past enjoyed good relations with Iran and even allowed Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic revolution, to live in Paris during the last days of his exile.

But their interests have clashed in the Middle East, most notably in Lebanon, where the two countries support rival political forces in Beirut.

The latest French outburst signals a far tougher policy towards Iran than the British Government’s position. David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, has refused to speculate about the possibility of military action. Jack Straw, his predecessor and now Justice Minister, insisted that the use of force against Iran was “inconceivable”.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who has been trying to mediate a peaceful solution to the crisis, today dismissed talk of war as “hype”.

“There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have got the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons,” he said.

But Israel, which has given warning that it will not allow Iran to build a nuclear bomb, was delighted by the new French tone.

“Strong declarations by the world community show that it will not remain with its arms crossed,” said Mark Regev, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman. “They are positive as they send a clear message to Tehran.”

The dispute is likely to be played out at the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York later this month when world leaders gather to discuss pressing foreign policy issues. Among the speakers will be President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

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