TEHRAN, February 24 (RIA Novosti) – Iran will act appropriately, if the UN Security Council passes a new sanctions resolution against the Islamic Republic, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said on Sunday.
The five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany agreed at talks in Berlin on January 22 on a draft for a third sanctions resolution against Iran calling for travel bans, asset freezes and vigilance on banks in the Islamic Republic.
The new draft resolution was officially introduced by France and Britain in the UN Security Council on Thursday, and council members are expected to vote on the resolution at some point next week.
Hosseini rejected as groundless the accusations by the U.S. and some of its allies that Tehran is seeking to create nuclear weapons.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Friday that Iran had become more transparent about its nuclear program, but had failed to provide credible answers to suspicions about the real nature of its nuclear activities.
The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the West began almost six years ago over suspicions that Tehran was developing a secret weapons program. Tehran has always maintained it needs nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Since then, two rounds of sanctions have been imposed – in December 2006 and March 2007.