The escalating dispute between Iran and the international community over
Tehran's nuclear program must be resolved peacefully, Britain's Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw said Monday, stressing that military action against the
Islamic Republic was inconceivable.
In an interview with BBC Radio Four's Today program, Straw said it was
still not too late for Iran to return to negotiations on its nuclear program
which the West suspects of being aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons but which
Tehran insists is for electricity generation.
Asked whether military action against Iran was inconceivable, Straw said:
Yes, it is.
This is an issue which has to be resolved ... by peaceful means, the
Foreign Secretary insisted.
He said the cases of Iraq and Iran were different, the former having
launched attacks on other countries and having had a nuclear weapons program.
Iran is not in that situation, he said.
We don't know for certain that they're moving towards weapons systems,
Straw said. But he noted that Iran had failed to disclose to the International
Atomic Energy, the UN's nuclear watchdog, certain aspects of its nuclear
program. If Iran is ... developing a nuclear weapons capability, it would
very seriously destabilize the Middle East, he said.
The IAEA last week handed over the Iranian nuclear dossier to the UN
Security Council which could impose sanctions on Tehran.
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