Iran says recent statements by EU foreign ministers about increasing sanctions on Iran are “irresponsible.”
IRNA reports that Ramin Mehmanparast, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said the Western countries’ approach of trying to pressure Iran will not yield any positive results.
He stressed that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and that all of its activities are “carried out under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
The United States and the EU have imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran in response to disputes over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has refused to halt its uranium enrichment, a process used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors. The West is concerned that the process could also give Iran the capability to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently denied having any military ambitions in its nuclear program and has called for the easing of sanctions before taking the nuclear negotiations any further.
Foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain announced on the sidelines of the EU foreign ministers meeting in Cyprus that sanctions on Iran have been effective and it is necessary to increase the pressure by strengthening the sanctions.
Mehmanparast stressed that the British Foreign Minister’s statements were in stark violation of IAEA regulations and only directed at “overshadowing Iran’s success in holding the NAM meeting in Tehran.”
The Non-Aligned Movement Summit was held in Iran last week with representatives from the 120 member countries attending various meetings over five days.
The United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon also attended the summit, despite opposition by many Western countries.
Nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers have so far yielded no results.
