Germany, Britain warn Iran on nuclear weapons

19 October 2004

LONDON – Britain and Germany issued a warning Tuesday to Iran to comply with international demands over its suspected nuclear weapons programme.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and his German counterpart Joschka Fischer discussed Teheran’s failure to honour a deal it agreed a year ago with Britain, France and Germany – acting on behalf of the European Union – to suspend its uranium enrichment programme and comply with International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.

“We have worked very closely now to try and deal with the deep concerns we have about Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran has yet to give us the confidence we need about its intentions,” Straw said after the meeting.

“We can’t go on indefinitely. Iran can still give us confidence before the IAEA meeting by suspending its uranium enrichment facilities,” he added.

Fischer said: “I want to underline that we are very much on the same track on Iran. We are very concerned about the developments and I think it’s very important that there is not a miscalculation in Tehran. They should stick to the agreement we have made.”

Straw said he hoped the issue could be dealt with by the IAEA board, which meets on 15 November, without being referred to the United Nations Security Council.

DPA

Subject: German news