Iran on Thursday summoned diplomats representing the United Kingdom, France and Germany in protest over a UN Security Council meeting on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
There was “no technical or legal justification” for the meeting, AFP quoted Iranian foreign ministry as saying in a statement, calling it “provocative and political, in line with the unilateral and nervous approach of the United States”.
The closed-door meeting was called on Wednesday by six of the council’s 15 members – the US, France, Greece, Panama, South Korea and Britain.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, has cautioned that Iran is “dramatically” increasing its uranium enrichment to 60% purity, nearing the 90% weapons-grade threshold.
Western nations say there is no justification for enriching uranium to such high levels for any civilian programme, noting that no other country has done so without developing nuclear weapons.
However, Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.
The three diplomatic representatives “were summoned to the foreign ministry in protest over their complicity with the United States and for holding a meeting behind closed doors on Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme,” added the statement.
Ahead of the meeting, Britain warned that it would trigger a return of UN sanctions on Iran, if needed, to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
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