(IRNA) - Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Monday that Iran hopes the United Nations Security Council will act in accordance with facts and legal provisions and not succumb to pressure from big powers, reports Trend.
Mottaki made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 14th international conference of Central Asia and the Caucasus dubbed `Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO): Prospects and Opportunities' which opened in Tehran on Monday.
Asked to comment on a resolution that could be passed anytime soon by the Security Council imposing sanctions on Iran, he said "illegal and inappropriate measures adopted by international organizations such as the UN Security Council serve only to weaken their reputation and standing as entities responsible for defending international peace and security."
Asked whether Iran continues to rely on the support of Russia and China, the minister said: "We only count on our nation but will nonetheless make our stance knwon to other states."
"We hope other countries will find our stance to be rational and possibly support it." Pointing to Tehran's decision to put into operation a second cascade of centrifuges on Friday, Mottaki said that its intention to operate this second phase had been "explicitly announced to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana."
He expressed his dismay over the suspension of talks, and accused certain countries of causing obstacles in the path of negotiations in the hope of achieving their own political agenda.
"Negotiations will be the best and the most feasible way of reaching an understanding," he concluded.