Iran warned on Wednesday that a likely UN Security Council resolution for imposing sanctions against Tehran would wreck any possibility for a compromise to resolve the standoff over the country's nuclear program.
France has said a sanctions resolution will likely be circulated at the council by the end of this week.
Support for sanctions is growing among leading members after weeks of talks between the EU and Iran failed to persuade Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment and start broader negotiations over its nuclear ambitions.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, insisted on Wednesday that continuing talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is "still possible."
But he warned that "in the case that a new resolution is passed by the Security Council, we will not be in the current point to resume possible talks."
"Resorting to arm-twisting through the Security Council would be considered a security threat to Iran and will change [Iran's] behavior," he said in an interview with the semi-official news agency Mehr.
Larijani said the West knows that their path would incite regional crisis, but he reiterated that Iran is ready for unconditional talks.
Iran has repeatedly said it would continue enrichment and is not intimidated by the possibility of sanctions.
"Iran will pursue its legitimate right, applying legal and diplomatic means," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Hosseini said on Wednesday, according to state television.
"Tehran has no doubt of its righteous way in insisting on its right to exploit nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," he added.
Enrichment is a key process that can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or the material for a warhead. The US and some in Europe accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, while Iran says its program is peaceful, aimed only at generating energy.
Solana, who has led talks with Iran, said he spoke to Larijani on Monday but "the situation hasn't changed," and Iran continues to refuse to suspend its nuclear enrichment program. Solana and Larinani launched the talks in a last bid to find a compromise after Iran ignored an Aug. 31 deadline set by the Security Council to stop uranium enrichment.
EU foreign ministers said after a meeting in Luxemburg on Tuesday that they have no choice but to back diplomatic talks at the UN about sanctions on Iran.
The ministers backed a decision by the UN's five permanent Security Council members -- the US, Russia, China, Britain and France -- and Germany to pursue limited sanctions on Tehran while keeping the door open to future talks.
The six countries offered Iran a package of economic incentives and political rewards in June if it agreed to consider a long-term moratorium on enrichment and commit to a freeze on uranium enrichment before talks to discuss details of their package.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their
RSS