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Iran slams G8 nuclear threat
AFP/Atta Kenare
An Iranian missile is displayed during the army day military parade, outside the mausoleum of the late founder of Islamic republic, Ayatollah Khomeini (poster) in Tehran, 18 April 2007.
AFP
TEHRAN
Petroleumworld.com 06 11 07Iran on Sunday slammed a threat by the Group of Eight powers of new sanctions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme.
"We have to say that we regret and deplore that such repetitive positions have been adopted," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.
In a statement issued on Friday at the end of their annual summit, the G8 nations said: "We deplore the fact that Iran has so far failed to meet its obligations" under UN Security Council resolutions on its nuclear programme.
It said it "will support adopting further measures, should Iran refuse to comply with its obligations."
Hosseini complained that the statement "fails to take account of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports and Iran's cooperation with international bodies."
The G8 consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
Their statement came amid calls for a third set of UN sanctions after Tehran again failed to obey a Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make nuclear fuel but also atomic weapons.
The UN Security Council has already imposed two sets of sanctions over the past half year targeting Iran's ballistics and nuclear industries.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons but Iran insists its nuclear drive is entirely peaceful and it just wants to generate energy for a growing population.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been holding talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in the past weeks to find a solution to the crisis but they have failed to break the deadlock.
However both men have spoken of progress in the talks and agreed to meet again soon.
Hosseini said that one of Larijani's deputies, Javad Vaidi, would be meeting a close aide of Solana on Monday at a location yet to be decided.
AFP 10 0919 GMT 06 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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