UN chief urges Iran to respect nuclear deadline

Berlin, Feb 21: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Iran today to comply with a Security Council call to halt its sensitive nuclear work, which Tehran earlier vowed to continue.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said earlier Iran would press on with its nuclear fuel programme, defying a deadline set in a UN Security Council resolution to stop enriching uranium for nuclear fuel or face broader sanctions.

''I would strongly urge the Iranian authorities to comply with the Security Council resolution and continue to negotiate with the international community, particularly the European Union,'' Ban told a news conference in Berlin.

Ban, who spoke after meeting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said the Iranian nuclear issue was a serious concern for the international community.

Steinmeier, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency for the first half of this year, said he was looking for signals from Iran that would allow talks to resume, adding: ''The decision lies with Tehran.'' The West suspects Iran wants to make atom bombs behind the facade of a civilian nuclear energy programme. Tehran says it is seeking nuclear power only to generate electricity.

Reuters

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