U.K. Government Calls for Increased Pressure on Iran

ITV:

Jack Straw has said the Government will ask the United Nations to increase the pressure on Iran to suspend its nuclear programme. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that Iran has ignored a request from the United Nations Security Council to suspend all nuclear fuel enrichment, and has instead accelerated the programme.

Mr Straw said: "We will now be asking the Security Council to increase the pressure on Iran so that the international community can be assured that its nuclear programme is not a threat to peace and security." READ MORE

US President George Bush has reassured other countries in the region he hopes to find a diplomatic solution.

After a meeting with Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, Mr Bush said: "I assured the president of my desire to solve this problem diplomatically and peacefully.

"I will consult and continue to consult with our allies on this issue. It's very important for the Iranians to understand there is a common desire by a lot of nations in this world to convince them, peacefully convince them, that they ought to give up their weapons ambitions."

China's UN ambassador has claimed almost all Security Council members want a diplomatic solution to the debate.

Chinese envoy Wang Guangya said: "There are a lot of problems in the region and we should not do anything that would cause the situation to become even more complicated."