Thursday, February 05, 2009

AFP, Washington, Feb 3, 2009 (excerpts) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday warned Iran it faced consequences if it failed to respect UN resolutions demanding a halt to its uranium enrichment activities.
“President Obama has signaled his intention to support tough and direct diplomacy with Iran but if Iran does not comply with the UNSC and the IAEA mandate, there must be consequences,” Clinton said.
She was referring to resolutions passed by the UN Security Council and the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, calling on Iran to halt its suspect nuclear activities.
As Clinton welcomed German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier for talks here, she added that the United States and Germany must cooperate in getting Iran to comply with its international obligations.
Iran said on Tuesday it had launched its first domestically manufactured satellite into orbit, raising fresh concerns among world powers already at odds with Tehran over its nuclear drive.
The launch comes at time when Iran is ignoring repeated UN Security Council demands to freeze sensitive nuclear work.
The West suspects Iran of secretly trying to build an atomic bomb and fears the technology used to launch a space rocket could be diverted into development of long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.