Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is to call for Europe to communicate better with the Iranian people.
BBC – In an International Institute for Strategic Studies speech, he will say Iran is going in the wrong direction and its people deserve better.
He will call for more information to be provided for Iranians in their own language, from around the world.
The UN Security Council will this week discuss how to encourage Iran’s regime to suspend its nuclear programme.
Denies accusations
Mr Straw is expected to say pressure on Iran is aimed only at preventing it from developing nuclear weapons, rather than stopping the development of peaceful nuclear energy.
BBC Security Correspondent Gordon Corera said Mr Straw’s attempt to connect directly with people in Iran will mark "a shift in approach" after years of Britain seeking constructive engagement with the Iranian regime.
On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency referred Iran to the UN Security Council after months of growing tension over the country’s nuclear programme. The security council has the power to impose sanctions.
Iran has vowed to resist international pressure, insisting it has the right to civilian nuclear technology. It denies US and EU accusations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
On Sunday, Iran said Moscow’s compromise proposal on its nuclear programme was "off the agenda" after the security council referral.
But ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said his country was still open to negotiations with Russia, as long as Iran’s right to conduct nuclear fuel research on its own soil was recognised.
Russia had sought to persuade Iran to move its enrichment programme to Russian territory, which would allow closer international monitoring.
