Russia urges Iran to comply on nuclear programme

Russia urged Iran yesterday to comply with demands by the United Nations Security Council to curb its nuclear programme, but Tehran remained defiant.

The Russian comments underlined Moscow's commitment to tackle Tehran after the Security Council passed a resolution on Monday imposing a third round of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to suspend sensitive nuclear activities.

Russia and China have been lukewarm about taking tough action on Iran, compared with the European Union, and especially with the United States which fears it is seeking a nuclear bomb.

"This resolution is a serious political signal to Tehran about the need to cooperate with the UN Security Council," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The resolution imposed more travel and financial curbs on Iranian individuals and companies, expanded a ban on trade in items with both civilian and military uses and called for increased vigilance over Iranian financial institutions.

Tehran, which has ignored all Council resolutions demanding it freeze its uranium enrichment programme, remained defiant.

"This resolution... has been issued based on political motives and hostile orientations and lacks value, is unacceptable and condemned," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted by Irna news agency as saying.

Iran says its work on uranium enrichment - which can produce fuel for nuclear power plants or atomic weapons - is part of a programme meant purely to generate electricity. It has previously dismissed the impact of sanctions, saying that, as the world's fourth largest oil producer enjoying windfall earnings, it has a cushion of crude revenues.

But business executives say the measures are making foreigners increasingly wary of investing in Iran, slowing down major oil and other projects, and pushing up trading costs as more foreign banks avoid dealings with the Islamic Republic.