Days after being caught calling Benjamin Netanyahu a "liar" in a private conversation with US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is now trying to minimize the damage

Days after being caught calling Benjamin Netanyahu a "liar" in a private conversation with US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is now trying to minimize the damage. But it seems what may appease Netanyahu was condemning, attacking and sanctioning Iran.

Sarkozy sent a personal letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu over the weekend addressing the IAEA's report on Iran's nuclear program, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.

The letter contains particularly harsh statements against Iran and is signed with the words "with friendship" in the French president's own hand-writing. The gesture is quite uncommon within diplomatic correspondence.

The letter was relayed to Netanyahu by French Ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot.

France has been trying to find a way to pacify Netanyahu since reports quoted Sarkozy as telling Obama: "I cannot stand him, he is a liar," during the G-20 summit last week.

On Wednesday, the White House said that working relations between Obama and Netanyahu were very good and that the president talks to Israel's prime minister more than any other leader.

In his letter to Netanyahu, Sarkozy fiercely slammed Tehran, accusing it of spreading "propaganda lies" and promised that Paris will lead unprecedented sanctions against Iran at this week's IAEA Board of Governors meeting.

He offered Netanyahu a close cooperation on the issue of sanctions, signaling France will accept Israel's demands on toughening sanctions.