US warning after Iran breaks seals at nuclear plant

Western governments issued stern warnings to Iran to desist from resuming its nuclear research after United Nations monitors in Vienna formally confirmed that the country's scientists had removed seals from materials at its Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

The White House said that unless Iran stepped back quickly, the issue would be referred to the UN Security Council with the possibility of sanctions or other kinds of punishment by the international community.

"If the regime in Iran continues on the current course and fails to abide by its international obligations there is no other choice but to refer the matter to the Security Council," said Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman. In London, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said the confirmation that the seals had been removed was of "profound concern", adding that the gathering crisis over Iran's intentions in the nuclear sphere was posing a growing threat to peace in the region. "This is enrichment," he said.

The removal of the seals could be the death knell to two-year-old talks between the Iranian regime and the governments of Britain, France and Germany, designed to limit Iran's activities to the production of energy and prevent it from weaponising its capacity. Those talks were interrupted in August last year when Iran began returning to its nuclear facilities.

"The reason it would be extremely serious if Iran was to continue in the way in which it has done - raising question after question about whether it is intent on developing a nuclear weapons facility - is that it would destabilise the whole of the region and, in doing so, threaten international peace and security as a whole," Mr Straw said.

Iran's latest steps signal the end of a two-year suspension of its activities at Natanz and other nuclear facilities across the country. It comes against a backdrop of increasingly belligerent rhetoric from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called last year for Israel to be wiped off the map.

An emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of the three European Union countries is expected to be held this week to consider the developments. The US will be pressing its European counterparts to recommend that the time has come to take up the issue in the Security Council.

Any such move would require the endorsement of the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, the UN nuclear watchdog. Its director, Mohamed ElBaradei, has indicated that the breaking of the seals may mean referral to the UN has become the best course.

"Iran informed us it wants to unravel some suspended activities that have to do with enrichment... at least they should not have any nuclear material involved or have any enrichment activities. That is really a red line," he said. "My own patience as head of the agency is running out."

Iran, which signalled its plan to resume research on 3 January, insists it has no interest in nuclear weapons, but wants to generate electricity to meet the country's ballooning energy needs. Indeed, there is still no clear indication of what Iran plans to do as it resumes activity at Natanz - whether it means merely to conduct experiments or to proceed to enrichment.

Until now, momentum towards UN sanctions on Iran has been slowed by Russia and China, both veto-holding countries on the Security Council. However, both Beijing and Moscow have in the past few days joined the US and EU countries in sending letters of disapproval to Tehran about its activities. Russia yesterday said the removal of the seals was "cause for concern".