LONDON (AP) -- Britain's foreign secretary said Monday there are no circumstances under which his nation would agree to an attack against Iran, which is under pressure to allow more intrusive inspections of its nuclear facilities.
Jack Straw, who was finishing a two-day visit to Iran, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that Iran could not be compared with its neighbor Iraq in terms of political system or danger posed to the region, although President Bush has called Iran part of an axis of evil.
"No one should ever compare Iran with Iraq in terms of their political systems or their danger," he said, before adding: "If you end up in a world where there is extensive proliferation of nuclear weapons systems, then everybody becomes more vulnerable."
When asked if he believed there were no circumstances in which Britain would agree to an attack on Iran, Straw replied: "Yes, and I can conceive of no such circumstances."
Straw said no one knew if Iran was developing nuclear weapons, and added that he would urge Iranian President Mohammad Khatami later Monday to allow more intrusive inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.
"What we, in concert with everybody else in the international community, are proposing is that they (Iran) have to sign up to an additional protocol which provides for more intrusive inspections," Straw told the BBC.
Straw said if Iran fails to do so, they will "not able to make progress on other issues," including a planned trade agreement between Iran and the European Union.
Jack Straw, who was finishing a two-day visit to Iran, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that Iran could not be compared with its neighbor Iraq in terms of political system or danger posed to the region, although President Bush has called Iran part of an axis of evil.
"No one should ever compare Iran with Iraq in terms of their political systems or their danger," he said, before adding: "If you end up in a world where there is extensive proliferation of nuclear weapons systems, then everybody becomes more vulnerable."
When asked if he believed there were no circumstances in which Britain would agree to an attack on Iran, Straw replied: "Yes, and I can conceive of no such circumstances."
Straw said no one knew if Iran was developing nuclear weapons, and added that he would urge Iranian President Mohammad Khatami later Monday to allow more intrusive inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.
"What we, in concert with everybody else in the international community, are proposing is that they (Iran) have to sign up to an additional protocol which provides for more intrusive inspections," Straw told the BBC.
Straw said if Iran fails to do so, they will "not able to make progress on other issues," including a planned trade agreement between Iran and the European Union.
