PARIS, Feb. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Thursday that Iran was pursuing a clandestine military nuclear program, the first time a European diplomat has made such explicit claims against Tehran.

    "No civilian nuclear program can explain the Iranian nuclear program. It is a clandestine military nuclear program," Douste-Blazy said on France-2 television, however, he did not give any further details.

    "The international community has sent a very firm message by saying to the Iranians: 'Come back to reason. Suspend all nuclear activity and the enrichment of uranium and the conversion of uranium,' but they aren't listening to us." he added.

    Therefore, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decided to report Iran to the UN Security Council, and the world body is awaiting a report, due on March 6, by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei before deciding how to proceed, Douste-Blazy said.

    "Now it's up to the Security Council to say what it will do, what means it will use to stop, to manage, to halt this terrible crisis of nuclear proliferation caused by Iran," Douste-Blazy said.

    Douste-Blazy's charge was immediately dismissed by Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, who said that "we want civil nuclear energy, we don't want to have the bomb."

    Speaking from Tehran on France-Inter radio, he said, "Concerning nuclear arms, we are a responsible country. ... The propaganda suggests that we want the bomb, but this is not the truth."

    France, Britain and Germany have led European negotiations that have failed to persuade Iran to suspend parts of its nuclear program.

    Amid mounting tensions, Iran on Monday resumed feeding uranium gas into centrifuges for nuclear-fuel enrichment after a break of two and a half years, but said the resumed enrichment work was just for research purposes. Enditem