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Iran says western powers unable to form regional front against it

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-24 11:36

TEHRAN -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said the West was unable to form regional front against Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.

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"The Western powers' Trojan horse plot has failed since they were not able to convince Arab countries to side against Iran in the dispute over the country's nuclear program," Qashqavi was quoted as saying.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United States, Britain, China, France, and Russia plus Germany,(5+ 1 group) and the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain, and also the representatives from three nonmember Arab states of Iraq, Egypt and Jordan met at the United Nations on December 16 to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

"The concerns about Iran's peaceful nuclear program are only false allegations made by a few Western countries, since the Arab countries have never expressed such concerns," Qashqavi told reporters.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last Wednesday that Arab countries are not ready to fully support the United States and Israel over Tehran's nuclear issue.

The United States and its allies have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

To date, the UN Security Council has adopted three resolutions slapping sanctions and urging the Islamic Republic to suspend uranium enrichment activities.