TEHRAN: Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said that Iran had the “appropriate tools” to confront Western pressure in the dispute over its nuclear programme.
“If they (Western countries) think they can put pressure on us, then they should know that other countries also have appropriate tools to confront such pressures,” said Larijani, who is also secretary of the National Security Council, in remarks reported by ISNA news agency.
Larijani did not evaluate further but Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri- Hamaneh had said that Iran would not rule out using oil as a weapon following a recent decision by the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on the Islamic state over its nuclear programmes.
On accelerating work on nuclear programmes as called for in a parliamentary bill approved earlier on Wednesday, Larijani said that if Iran’s right to civilian nuclear energy was not recognised, Tehran would continue its work.
Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament voted to urge the government to re-examine its ties with the UN nuclear agency following a Security Council decision to impose sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme. The move signalled that Iran was likely to reduce its cooperation with the IAEA.
