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Iran nuke program 'could trigger arms race'

London, February 19, 2012

Iran's nuclear ambitions could plunge the Middle East into 'a new Cold War', British Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned.

Iran is clearly trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability, and if it succeeds it will set off a dangerous round of nuclear proliferation across the Middle East, he said.

'If they obtain nuclear weapons capability, I think other nations across the Middle East will want to develop nuclear weapons,' he told The Daily Telegraph in an interview published on Saturday.

'The most serious round of nuclear proliferation since nuclear weapons were invented would have begun, with all the destabilising effects in the Middle East, and the threat of a new Cold War in the Middle East without necessarily all the safety mechanisms,' he said.

'That would be a disaster in world affairs,' warned the British Foreign Secretary.

He said any attack on Iran would carry huge costs. Striking at Iran's disputed nuclear programme would have 'enormous downsides', he said.

'We are very clear to all concerned that we are not advocating military action,' Hague said.

'We support a twin-track strategy of sanctions and pressure, and negotiations on the other hand.

'We are not favouring the idea of anybody attacking Iran at the moment,' he added.-Reuters




Tags: Middle East | Iran | UK | Nuclear | warning | arms race |

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