Iran threatens reprisals if referred to UNSC

Iran has warned that it will cooperate only as long as the issue remains within the IAEA.

Iran has warned that it will be forced to suspend its voluntary cooperation with the UN's atomic energy watchdog if referred to the Security Council over its disputed nuclear programme, a senior official said on Tuesday.

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Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asgar Soltaniyeh, also said that that the move to resume sensitive nuclear research work was "irreversible".

"As I said recently, if Iran's nuclear case leaves the framework of the IAEA for the Security Council, the Government, in line with the law voted by the Parliament, will end voluntary cooperation," he added.

He said that this included an end to the voluntary suspension of certain nuclear fuel work and the application of the additional protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which gives more power to the IAEA inspectors.

"This message is very clear and very direct, and the IAEA must understand this," he asserted.