BICOM

In a meeting held yesterday in Brussels, European Union foreign ministers threatened to tighten sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, but appeared divided over leaving the possibility of a military strike on the table. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned after talking with his counterparts that a military intervention ‘would be the worst thing and it would drag us into an uncontrollable spiral.’ German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle added that military action would be ‘counterproductive.’

British Foreign Secretary William Hague took a position more in line with the United States, saying, ‘We are not calling for, or advocating, military action. At the same time, we are saying that all options are on the table.’ Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, when asked about possible military action, echoed Hague’s comments.

In a joint statement, the 27 EU ministers voiced ‘increasing concerns’ over Tehran’s nuclear programme and the lack of progress on the diplomatic front. ‘We urge Iran to address the international concerns over the nature of its nuclear programme through full cooperation with the IAEA and by demonstrating readiness to engage seriously in concrete discussions on confidence-building steps,’ the ministers said. The statement also warned that Iran was in breach of international obligations, and that the EU would ‘examine possible new and reinforced measures’ when they are due to meet at the beginning of next month.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is representing six world powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – in stalled talks with Iran aimed at convincing Tehran to freeze nuclear activities. Ashton told reporters that she was still waiting for a response from Iran on her letter offering to resume talks, and that negotiations had to take place ‘absolutely in the spirit we proposed.’