Iran deplores western countries' statement on its nuke program

Tehran, Nov 2: Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday downplayed a recent statement by the United States, Britain, France and Germany on Tehran's nuclear program, Tasnim news agency reported. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called the four western states' comments on Iran's nuclear activities as "unconstructive" and lack of reality.

The comments by the Iranian Spokesman came after the leaders of four western countries expressed their concerns about Iran's nuclear program after a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Iran "has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps, such as the production of highly enriched uranium and enriched uranium metal," the statement was cited by the Western media.

Khatibzadeh stressed the "peaceful nature" of Iran's nuclear activities, saying that Tehran is not building nuclear weapons which have no place in Iran's defence doctrine.

Iran is a responsible member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a cooperative member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he said.