EJP | News | Austrian FM: Iran heading in ‘wrong direction’

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Austrian FM: Iran heading in ‘wrong direction’

Updated: 25/Jan/2006 18:06

(R) Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik at the European Parliment in Brussels and German MEP Jo Leinen

Photo: HOPI-MEDIA Medienservice GmbH. A-1030 Wien

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Austria’s foreign minister Ursula Plassnik said Iran is heading in “the wrong direction”, in remarks she made on Tuesday at the European Parliament in Brussels.

“The resumption of nuclear activities and Iran’s attacks against Israel are bringing about a growing uneasiness,” she told the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

“At a moment when we need measures to create confidence, they are taking the wrong direction,” the minister said.

Greatest concern

The Austrian ministerial statement is the first on this issue since Austria took over the EU presidency from the UK on 1 January.

“The statements by the Iranian president are causing the greatest concern to us,” she added.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an ultra-conservative who came to power in a surprise victory last June, has sparked international condemnation with a number of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish remarks.

They include labelling Israel a "tumour" that should be "wiped off the map" or moved as far away as Alaska and claiming the Holocaust was a “myth” and a Western invention.

Security Council

The Iranian issue is likely to be discussed next Monday at a meeting of the 25 foreign ministers.

Moreover, Iran is currently at odds with the Unites States and the European Union about its purported plan to acquire a nuclear weapon.

The Council of Governors of the Vienna-based International Agency for Atomic Energy will hold a crucial meeting on this topic on 2 February.

The European Union and the United States have stepped up pressure on Iran to stop its uranium enrichment programme and are considering referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council, the sole international body which might impose sanctions on Teheran.

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