Merkel joins Sarko in Iran rhetoric

 

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:23:34 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Iran to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the international community.

"So far there has not been a positive commitment from Iran," Merkel claimed after a meeting with the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in Berlin on Thursday.

The German Chancellor said that Iran has to prove that it would adhere to the principles of the International Atomic Energy Agency, DPA reported.

"We don't want to see Iran attacked, but at the same time we don't want to see Iran in possession of a nuclear bomb," Sheikh Mohammed said through an interpreter.

Sheikh Mohammed, who arrived in Germany on Wednesday, attended a meeting of the German-Emirates economic forum on Wednesday evening.

The UAE has recently taken steps to get closer to the West, allowing France to station its military forces in the Persian Gulf state.

The West is pressuring Iran into abandoning its uranium enrichment work. Tehran maintains as a signatory of the non-Proliferation Treaty, it is entitled to run a peaceful nuclear program and that its nuclear activities are solely aimed at civilian purposes.