The Islamic Republic of Iran rejected Tuesday a British suggestion that Tehran should "make the right choice" in its stand-off with the West over its controversial uranium- enrichment program, reports say.
The rejection came in response to a speech of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London earlier in the day, where he said that by continuing to enrich weapons-grade uranium, Iran remained a "critical proliferation threat", and risked severe sanctions.
However, the British premier said, like every other country, Iran had the right to produce civil nuclear power and seek help from the international community for its civil nuclear program, while abandoning its drive to acquire nuclear weapons.
Brown said the Islamic nation could become a "test case" for co-operation between nuclear nations and non-nuclear states by holding talks with the West over its nuclear stand-off.
"I urge Iran, once again, to work with us rather than against us upon this. The opportunity to do so remains on the table, and the choice is theirs to make. I think they will make the right choice," said Brown.
Reacting to the statement, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said that the British Prime Minister's comments were full of contradictions.
He ridiculed Brown for stressing on one hand Iran's absolute right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, while, on the other, saying Iran's present nuclear program was unacceptable.
Terming the claim that Iran posed a threat to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as totally baseless, the spokesman said all nuclear activities of his country were "completely of peaceful nature" and under supervision of the U.N. atomic watchdog--the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He added that Iran had repeatedly announced its readiness for unconditional talks on the basis of fairness and mutual respect.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.