Iran: The European Union has agreed for the first time that the use of force might be necessary to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, issued a tough warning to Iran to accept UN inspections of its nuclear programme immediately.
The ministers adopted a strategy that diplomacy and inspections should be the first line of defence to combat the proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
But they agreed "to consider, in case political and diplomatic measures have failed, coercive measures, including, as a last resort, the use of force in accordance with the United Nations Charter".
In a separate statement on Iran, the ministers said that they had "significant concerns" about human rights, weapons proliferation and support for terrorism. They warned that Iran's failure to co-operate fully with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could threaten Tehran's prospects of agreeing a trade deal with the EU.
"While the council [of ministers\] recognises Iran's right to develop a nuclear programme for civilian purposes, the nature of some aspects of this programme raises serious concern. The council stressed the need for Iran to answer timely, fully and adequately all questions raised regarding its nuclear programme. It called on Iran to fully co-operate with the IAEA," the ministers said.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said that the statement reflected growing concern within the EU about Iran's nuclear programme and about the Iranian government's response to this week's demonstrations in Tehran.
"There have been some developments there recently which are worrying in terms of Iran's growing capability, particularly in relation to its nuclear weapons programme," Mr Cowen said. "It's also a question of making sure we encourage reformists in the Iranian administration who want to make sure there's a full rapprochement with Europe and the wider international community."
The EU's External Affairs Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, dismissed a suggestion that the EU's new, robust tone towards Iran reflected a desire to curry favour in Washington in advance of next week's EU-US summit.
"This is not somebody else's agenda. This is our agenda. Iran has to recognise that we have real concerns on our side," he said.
The EU's strategy against weapons of mass destruction advocates "an effective stick-and-carrot policy" to encourage non-proliferation. It suggests that the best solution to weapons of mass destruction is that countries should no longer feel they need them.
"The more secure countries feel, the more likely they are to abandon programmes: disarmament measures can lead to a virtuous circle just as weapons programmes can lead to an arms race.
"To this end, we must actively foster the establishment of regional security arrangements and regional arms control and disarmament processes," the ministers said.
EU leaders will discuss weapons of mass destruction when they meet near the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this week.
At the meeting, the EU's foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, will present the first draft of an EU security doctrine.
Mr Solana said yesterday that the document, which will be no more than 12 pages long, will analyse the current security situation, identify threats and formulate strategic objectives for the EU.
Mr Solana also said that the EU would consider how to cut off funding for Hamas after last week's suicide attacks against Israelis by the militant Islamic organisation.