Potsdam, Germany (dpa – Deutsche Presse-Agentur)- Ministers of the world’s key industrial nations threatened Iran with sanctions Thursday if it refuses to suspend its nuclear enrichment programme.
A statement released at the end of a meeting of G8 foreign ministers urged the government in Tehran to agree to UN demands to halt its controversial nuclear programme.
If Tehran continued to ignore the world body the G8 countries would support further sanctions, the statement said.
‘The concerns of the international community have not lessened,’ German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told a joint press conference after the talks.
He said that Iran was pressing ahead with technical preparations for the continuation of its enrichment programme.
At the same time the G8 states – Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Russia, the United States, Canada and Japan – said they were hoping for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The European Union’s top diplomat Javier Solana is due to discuss the situation with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani near Madrid on Thursday.
