Iranian parliament to review ties with Germany after Merkel remarks

Aug 22, 2009, 16:46 GMT

Tehran - The Iranian parliament plans to review diplomatic ties with Germany following remarks by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on renewed sanctions against Iran if nuclear negotiations with world powers failed, parliamentarian Mohammad Karami said Saturday.

'The West is quite aware that our nuclear programme has no (military) irregularities. Therefore the parliament will evaluate the irrelevant remarks by Merkel and accordingly review future ties with Germany,' the Fars news agency quoted Karami, who is the spokesman for the parliamentary foreign policy commission.

Merkel told the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday that if there was no progress in the course of nuclear talks, the West should react with sanctions.

She added that Iran, whose president has constantly questioned Israel's right to exist, should not be allowed to have an atomic bomb.

Karami termed the Merkel remarks as 'psychological war,' from which - he speculated - she hoped to gain more votes in the forthcoming general elections in Germany.

Merkel has not congratulated President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his controversial re-election, angering both Iran's president and parliament.