South African President Thabo Mbeki yesterday urged Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to remove any uncertainty about its nuclear program.

Mbeki made the statement while replying to questions in the National Assembly in Cape Town.

He said that the principle contained in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), giving all signatories access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, was critical and had to be respected.

South Africa would not agree to any interventions made to undermine respect for that principle, he stressed.

"You can't have a situation where all of us, the countries of the world, enter into a solemn treaty like this, subject themselves to regular inspection by the IAEA to ensure there is no proliferation of nuclear weapons, and then arbitrarily be told they cannot use this technology for medical purposes, electricity generation, and all sorts of other purposes. That obviously would not be correct," he said. Mbeki said South Africa was very concerned generally about the situation in the Middle East.

There was much instability, including in Palestine and Iraq, as well as tensions between Syria and Lebanon.

The sensible thing to do would be to try to reduce the trouble spots in the region, not increase them.

Therefore, it was important to find a proper resolution with Iran and not advance to a situation of confrontation, which would bode ill for prospects of peace, not only in the Middle East, but in the world.

South Africa had been trying to insist that the matter be resolved in a way that addressed everyone's concerns and interests without any confrontation.

It was quite clear that if the problem was allowed to escalate, it would have negative consequences that were very difficult to foresee, Mbeki said.