German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman called Wednesday for new sanctions against Iran after the United Nations' nuclear watchdog released the clearest evidence yet that Tehran was building a nuclear weapon, dpa reported.
Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin that Tehran must return to the negotiating table with world powers seeking to persuade it to be more transparent about its nuclear activities. The powers are the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement: "If Iran continues to refuse serious negotiations about its nuclear programme, new, stricter sanctions will be unavoidable. The route via the most broadly shared sanctions possible is the right one."
He added that Germany was opposed to any discussion of military action against Iran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a report on Tuesday, stated that Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."
The United Nations Security Council has already imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities.