Iran reacted angrily yesterday to a UN Security Council resolution ordering the Islamic country to freeze sensitive nuclear work by the end of the month.
UN Resolution 1696, which dangles the threat of sanctions unless Iran halts uranium enrichment and other work that could help build a nuclear bomb, was welcomed by the US and its allies but decried as "destructive and totally unwarranted" by Iran's UN ambassador.
"I would suggest to you that this approach will not lead to any productive outcome. It can only exacerbate the situation," Javad Zarif told the Security Council.
"The Americans must be sure that Iran will not take part in a game which it will lose," Kazem Jalali, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's foreign affairs commission, was also quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
"If there were to be a loser, it would be those who have shifted the Iranian nuclear issue away from dialogue," he warned.
The Security Council gave Tehran an Aug. 31 deadline to comply, and said that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei should then report back on what Iran has done to fall into line.
But the text of the resolution held off from an immediate threat of sanctions, which have been opposed by Russia and China, saying they needed further discussion.
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Japan urges Iran to accept UN proposal
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