Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

    TEHRAN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran's government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said Sunday that Iran's nuclear stance will not be changed by sanctions or threats.

    "Iran's nuclear stance is strong and transparent and this stance would not change through any sanction or threat," Elham told reporters after a cabinet session, adding, "We still believe that the nuclear talks are progressing."

    He said that five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) -- The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- plus Germany have no consensus on imposing new sanctions against Iran.

    Certain countries are willing to make use of the new sanctions as a political tool and such a move will bear no fruit and can be only considered as a psychological propaganda campaign, stressed the spokesman.

    "The Islamic Republic of Iran will resist such moves and will not retreat from its rights," Elham said.

    The European Union (EU) issued a decree on Friday to consider fresh UNSC sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear program.

    The EU presidency decreed that its financial institutions must exercise restraint on export credits to Iran and that its 27 member states inspect Iran-bound cargoes.

    Chairman of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's parliament, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said Saturday that imposing new sanctions on the Islamic Republic will harm the West.