US not to resolve Iran nuke issue by force: ambassador to UN

Xinhua:

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, on Sunday dismissed the allegation that Washington would solve the Iran nuclear issue by force, saying that his country was seeking a peaceful settlement, according reports from the Qatari capital of Doha.

Washington had no plans to take the same action in Iran as it had in neighboring Iraq, Bolton said during his visit to Qatar, which followed the meeting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany in Berlin on Thursday. READ MORE

The ambassador explained he had come to listen to the opinions and concerns of Qatari leaders over the Iran nuclear issue. He stressed the importance and influence of Qatar on regional issues as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The United States was making efforts to solve the Iran issue peacefully, and was aimed at stopping Tehran from breaching the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Bolton said.

He added that the Iran nuclear issue had been referred to the UN Security Council for discussion, and he hoped Tehran would understand the situation and make the same decision as Libya had to abandon the bid for weapons of mass destruction.

After the Thursday meeting in Berlin, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council nations and Germany urged Iran to suspend all its enrichment activities and return to negotiations.

The talks came one day after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a presidential statement calling on Iran to resume suspension of all uranium enrichment-related activities within 30 days.