WASHINGTON - French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the American Jewish Committee on Wednesday he believed Iran and the Arab countries, including Syria, have a right to civilian nuclear power.

Sarkozy, receiving an award from the Jewish group as a tireless promoter of democratic values, human rights and peace, said "there should be a dialogue developed with Iran" that acknowledges its development of civilian nuclear energy.

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If this right would be denied, he said, extremist influence in Iran will grow. "However," the French president added, "a nuclear Iran is not something that is acceptable to us."

The Bush administration, which has taken some tentative steps to develop contacts with Iran, is suspicious of Iran's nuclear program as aimed at building nuclear weapons, despite Iran's assertions it is working only on civilian power.

Sarkozy continued to say that "Israel's security is close to my heart", adding that "the world must vouch for its security, and France will be at the forefront of this"; he also mentioned Israel's importance as "the only place a Jewish person can go to if something happens to him…I have always thought of Israel as a miracle".

'A solution must be provided now'

Turning his attention to the current peace initiative, the French leader said he was in favor of establishing a Palestinian state.

"A solution must be provided now. It is in the interest of the entire world that there be an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians," he said.

Sarkozy told the Committee that France was not an ant-Semitic country, but added that 'we must face the fact that anti-Semitism exists".

"When you try to explain anti-Semitism, you look for excuses to try and shed light on the logic in it. Is there any logic in rape? In bank robberies? Anti-Semitism is a combination of stupidity and hatred," he said.

Later Sarkozy assured an embracing Congress Wednesday that "our friendship and our alliance is strong."

He also told lawmakers that such improved relations should lead to much closer cooperation on a host of international problems including Iran's nuclear program, Middle East peace and the stability of Lebanon.

Sarkozy came to Washington seeking to restore the kind of relationship that existed between Paris and Washington before sharp differences arose over the US-led war in Iraq. And he left to a rousing standing ovation — an indication that Sarkozy has quickly shifted the dynamic of French-American relations in his first six months in office.