Iran says it's not afraid of Security Council
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-08 01:38

EU STATEMENT CRITICISED

But Iran has refused to halt uranium conversion at its Isfahan processing plant, which it resumed in August and which EU diplomats say is the biggest obstacle to fresh talks.

"They (the EU) can try Security Council referral. But I think they are wise enough to understand that today's situation differs from the past," Larijani said.

Earlier on Tuesday Iran's Foreign Ministry rebuked the EU for a tough statement issued from Brussels on Monday calling on Iran to freeze all nuclear fuel work and criticizing its human rights record.

"The EU's statement was surprising. We suggest the Europeans change their behavior toward Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told state television.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday held a closed door meeting with the ambassadors of all EU countries and members of the IAEA board.

Larijani also criticized the EU statement, which condemned "in the strongest terms" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments last month in which he said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

"I am against different articles of this statement, especially those about human rights in Iran," Larijani said. "If they think that pressuring Iran will force us to abandon the rights of the Iranian nation, they are making a mistake."

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said on Monday that the EU had not yet discussed sanctions if Iran failed to comply with the IAEA resolution.