Iran's Foreign Ministry warns that Tehran will respond if world powers pass additional sanctions against Iran for its controversial nuclear activities.
Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini told reporters Sunday that the content of the sanctions resolution will determine Tehran's response. He did not provide further details.
His remarks echo those made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday.
In a televised speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad said Tehran would take unspecified reciprocal measures against any country that imposes new sanctions.
Senior officials from Germany and the five permanent Security Council members (the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China) plan to meet in Washington Monday to discuss a possible sanctions resolution.
The Iranian president pointed to a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that says Tehran has made progress in providing details about its atomic work.
However, the report also says Iran has not provided enough information to prove it is operating its nuclear program for solely peaceful purposes.
The IAEA report also says Iran has refused to halt uranium enrichment -- a process that can produce material needed to construct nuclear weapons.
A few days ago, France and Britain introduced a United Nations Security Council resolution outlining a third round of sanctions against Iran for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday there is a very strong case for moving forward with a new round of sanctions against Iran. She said Tehran continues to enrich uranium and has not answered questions about its past nuclear activities.
The United States and its allies accuse Iran of trying to master technology to build nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
