United Nations: Days after the Security Council tightened sanctions it had imposed against Iran over its uranium-enrichment activities, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked Tehran to take steps to restore trust that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.
In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban noted "with satisfaction" that the Council had acted unanimously in adopting Resolution 1747, which imposed a ban on arms sales by Iran and expanded the list of persons whose assets it seeks to freeze.
He called on the Iran "to fully implement the resolution's provisions and to urgently take the necessary steps to restore the international community's trust that its nuclear programme is peaceful in nature."
"The Secretary-General believes that a negotiated solution would strengthen the international non-proliferation regime and hopes that dialogue will resume on this issue."
Iran's nuclear programme has evoked concerns since the discovery in 2003 that it had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the NPT.
At a Security Council meeting on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, rejected the resolution as a politically motivated scheme to deprive the country's people of their rights and asserted that suspension of its uranium enrichment programme, which the resolution demands, is neither a possibility nor a solution.
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