Iran minister says UN sanctions would be illegal

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki today said any UN Security Council resolution to pressure his country over its nuclear programme would be illegal, news reports said.

“The referral of our dossier to the UN Security Council is an illegal political move,” Mottaki was quoted as saying by the Russian Interfax news agency in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

The Security Council could vote next week on whether to impose sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can create fuel for power generation or the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

Mottaki said Iran is continuing its uranium enrichment program under the observation of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“You know that our (nuclear) facilities are regularly visited by IAEA inspectors,” he was quoted as saying.

Iran says its program is intended only to generate power, but the US, its European allies and Israel fear Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.