AFP: Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Tuesday the time has come for the UN Security Council to press Iran with new tough sanctions to curb its nuclear ambitions.
OTTAWA (AFP) — Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Tuesday the time has come for the UN Security Council to press Iran with new tough sanctions to curb its nuclear ambitions.
“There is an urgency,” Cannon told reporters after addressing G8 senior officials in Gatineau, Quebec.
Deadlines for Iran’s compliance with international nuclear watchdogs had “come and gone,” he said. “It’s time now for action.”
“Hopefully the UN Security Council will (apply new sanctions) shortly,” he said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking at a review conference of the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the United Nations on Monday, blasted the United States for threatening to use nuclear arms, triggering a sharp American response and a walkout by several delegations, including Canada.
Cannon also lamented that Ahmadinejad “did not seize the opportunity (in his speech)… to dispel any doubts as to his (country’s nuclear) intentions.”
“Yesterday, in New York, Iran did not show one hint of intention to comply and instead delivered an aggressive and provocative statement,” he said in a speech to G8 officials.