Iran
must satisfy the demands of the international community over its nuclear program or face fresh sanctions and increasing isolation, US National Security Adviser James Jones said on Saturday.
"The unprecedented degree of international consensus ... demonstrates that Tehran must meet its responsibilities or face wider sanctions and increasing international isolation," Jones said at the annual Munich Security Conference.
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| Iran says starts production of two new missiles / Reuters |
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State radio reports Defense Minister Vahidi inaugurated production lines for anti-helicopter, anti-armor missiles just days after Tehran launches rocket capable of carrying satellite |
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He was speaking after Iran's foreign minister said on Friday he was confident of a deal soon with world powers on exchanging some of Tehran's low-enriched uranium for higher-grade fuel it could use in a reactor producing medical isotopes.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday he saw no sign that such a deal was.
"I don't have the sense that we're close to an agreement," Gates told reporters in Ankara, where he met Turkish leaders. "If they are prepared to take up the original proposal of the P-5 plus one of delivering 12,000 kilograms of their low enriched uranium, all at once to an agreed party, I think there would be a response to that.
"But the reality is they have done nothing to reassure the international community that they are prepared to comply with the NPT or stop their progress towards a nuclear weapon, and therefore I think various nations need to think about whether the time has come for a different tack," Gates added.
Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, said on Friday he saw good prospects for clinching a deal with world powers on exchanging some of its low-enriched uranium for higher-grade fuel.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN Friday that a nuclear Iran and North Korea constitute a major threat. In an interview that is schedule to be aired Sunday, Clinton said Iran has yet to produce nuclear weapons but its conduct indicates a clear intent to obtain them.
Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to the report
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