Iran slams G8 nuclear sanctions warning

Iran has condemned a G8 warning that it could face more sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme, the country’s official Islamic Republic News Agency reported today.

Mohamad Ali Hosseini, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said Iran welcomed diplomatic solutions “to answer questions and possible ambiguities over its peaceful nuclear programme,” IRNA said.

But Mr Hosseini said the G8 statement went against what he called the intent of the international community, to work on the nuclear issue through talks and negotiation.

He reiterated that Iran would not accept demands that it suspend uranium enrichment, which can be used both to generate energy and to create a nuclear weapon, before any negotiations.

Today, during his weekly news briefing, Mr Hosseini said both permanent and rotating members of the Security Council should take “a realistic approach to Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme. They should take a stance on the case based on logic and on international measures.”

The Group of Eight industrialised countries said on Friday that they would “support adopting further measures” if Iran refused to put a halt to its uranium enrichment programme.

The G8 leaders, at a summit in Germany, said they would back UN Security Council moves on a third set of sanctions against Iran if Tehran failed to suspend the programme.

On Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran’s nuclear programme could not be stopped, and that any Western attempt to force a halt to uranium enrichment would be like playing “with the lion’s tail”.

The Security Council first imposed sanctions on Iran in December and modestly increased them in March over Iran’s refusal to suspend enrichment.

Iran says it is within its rights to pursue uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes.

The US and some of its allies fear that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons programme under cover of its civilian nuclear activities.

Iran denies that and says its programme is aimed at peaceful purposes such as generating electrical energy.