Germany threatens Iran with sanctions (Roundup)

Feb 19, 2010, 13:16 GMT

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle warned Iran on Friday that it faces new sanctions if it continues to conceal details of its controversial nuclear programme.

The international community 'will not put up with assurances' if Iran continues its unwillingness to enter into 'an honest dialogue,' the minister told a news conference in Berlin.

Westerwelle was speaking a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern for the first time that Iran is currently working on a nuclear warhead.

The foreign minister did not specify what form new sanctions might take.

'I don't want to set any deadline, but make it clear that the patience of the international community is not unlimited,' he said.

The United States and other Western nations have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons and are pushing for another round of United Nations sanctions against Iran.

Earlier, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said Germany would support sanctions, but was against a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

'We believe a diplomatic solution is a practicable solution,' the spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, said. 'We continue to reach out our hand out to Iran.'

Iran has repeatedly denied it is working on atomic weapons and insists its uranium enrichment plants and other facilities are purely geared towards nuclear energy.

However, the country's officials have not been cooperating with the IAEA on clearing allegations about military nuclear development, officials at the nuclear watchdog said.