Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

    GENEVA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here on Tuesday that issues concerning his country's nuclear program can only be solved through diplomatic channels.

    Only by political means and through diplomatic channels can the issue be solved, Mottaki told reporters in Geneva, where he attended two U.N. meetings on disarmament and human rights.

    Mottaki said that his country would not yield to any outside pressure, and Security Council resolutions would not help in solving the issue.

    Six key nations are considering new punitive measures against Iran. Their consultations on the new Security Council draft resolution have been going on for two weeks in New York.

    French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, who attended the talks, said Monday that the door for a diplomatic solution on the Iranian nuclear issue is always open, encouraging Iran to come back to negotiations.

    Mottaki reiterated that, as a signatory member to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has the legal right to develop and use nuclear energy peacefully, and there is no reason for Tehran to stop its nuclear activities.

    Washington has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian program, a charge that Iran denies.