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UK govt to discuss military actions against Iran
3/4/2006 10:45

The British government will hold secret meetings with defense heads on Monday to discuss the consequences of possible military actions against Iran, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

The secret meeting would focus on the aftermath for Britain in the event of the possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, the newspaper quoted a senior foreign office source as saying.

The defense chiefs "will want to know what the impact will be on British interests in Iraq and Afghanistan which both border Iran," the newspaper said.

They "will then brief the prime minister and the cabinet on their conclusions in the next few days," it added.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a presidential statement Wednesday afternoon calling on Iran to resume suspension of all uranium enrichment-related activities within 30 days.

"If Iran makes another strategic mistake, such as ignoring demands by the UN or future resolutions, then the thinking among the chiefs is that military action could be taken to bring an end to the crisis.

"There will be no invasion of Iran but the nuclear sites will be destroyed. This is not something that will happen imminently, maybe this year, maybe next year," the source told the newspaper.

The Ministry of Defense denied the above report, saying no such meeting between defence, foreign office and other officials is taking place.

"There will be no briefing of the prime minister and the Cabinet Office in this regard, nor are there any plans for such a briefing," a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said.

The United States claims that Iran's program is designed to develop nuclear weapons. But Teheran insists that its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity and it is entitled to developing peaceful nuclear technology under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.



Xinhua News