PARIS, Aug 2: The European Union and the US on Tuesday issued sharp warnings to Iran over its threatened violation of a deal suspending its nuclear activities, saying it could trigger unspecified consequences from the UN Security Council. Iran immediately rejected the ultimatum, with the official IRNA news agency quoting foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza as saying: “The time for threats and intimidation is over.”

He said Iran would never cede its ‘legitimate rights’ regarding nuclear work. The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany and EU foreign policy supremo Javier Solana underscored the growing seriousness of the confrontation in a letter to Iranian authorities made public in Paris.

“Were Iran to resume currently suspended activities, our negotiations would be brought to an end, and we would have no option but to pursue other courses of action,” they said in the text addressed to Iran’s nuclear programme director, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hassan Rowhani.

The three countries said they were seeking a special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors ‘in the next few days to discuss the way ahead’.

The French and US governments said that, after the IAEA meeting, the issue could be taken to the Security Council, where sanctions could be imposed on Tehran. “We therefore call upon Iran not to resume suspended activities or take other unilateral steps, and to confirm without delay its full commitment to the Paris Agreement,” the European ministers said.—AFP