By IANS
Tehran : Iran Tuesday denounced Western criticism of its nuclear policy and said the upcoming Berlin meet could not stop the country’s nuclear drive.
Criticising the proposed meet of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany – in Berlin, Iran government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said nothing could stop the Islamic country from pursuing its civil nuclear programme.
“The Iranian nation moves towards realisation of its (nuclear) aims within a legal and legitimate framework and even a new UN resolution would not change this drive,” Elham was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.
He said there was no justification for involving the UN Security Council in his country’s nuclear programme, as it would weaken the status of the UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The Iranian official called on the world powers to respect the status of the IAEA and allow it to deal with the Iranian nuclear dossier as the relevant international body.
On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini accused the West of further complicating the nuclear issue by politicising it.
“Despite the International Atomic Energy Agency’s clarification that Iran has no diversion from the civilian path, the western countries are holding a meeting in Berlin, which will be a failure,” he said.
“The westerners are seeking excuse and do not take the report of the UN specialized agency into account,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
He said that Iran will proceed with constructive cooperation with the UN agency and that the western nations should support such a trend. “Otherwise, they will get nowhere,” he warned.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany are due to hold a meeting Tuesday in Berlin, Germany, to discuss further sanctions against Iran for its defiance to stop its controversial nuclear programme.
Iran has been accused of enriching uranium for making weapons under the cover of civil nuclear programme, which the Islamic country has been denying.