Any threat against Iran would destabilize entire Middle East, Tehran warns

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran's top nuclear negotiator warned Thursday ahead of a 35-nation meeting on the country's nuclear program that any threat against his country would have repercussions on the stability of the entire Middle East.



Speaking at a conference, Saeed Jalili did not elaborate what the consequences of a possible strike on Iran would be, but referred to the security situation in Iran's neighbors, Iraq and Afghanistan, where there is a heavy U.S. military presence.



"Playing with security of Iran is like dominos," he said. "We believe the world powers are aware about Iran's effective role in the global security ... Our role in Afghanistan and Iraq is in direction with peace, stability and improving governments there."



The 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, meets Thursday to discuss its report which gave Iran relatively mixed marks on its cooperation with a probe of past suspicious nuclear activities.



The report found that Tehran continues to ignore a central Security Council demand — freezing its enrichment program, a potential pathway to nuclear arms.



Jalili maintained, however, that recent U.N. nuclear watchdog report on Iran proves that the accusations that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons are baseless, and reiterated his country's irrefutable right to a nuclear program geared toward energy production.



The U.S. and some of its allies have said they would press for new U.N. sanctions unless Iran suspends enrichment and provides a full and detailed disclosure of past suspicious nuclear activities.



Earlier this month, Iran said it stepped up uranium enrichment by fully running 3,000 centrifuges at its nuclear plant in the central city of Natanz, which experts say could produce enough material for a weapon in a year and a half if that was the intent.



The facility is currently under IAEA observation, The Associated Press reports.