Iran sanctions would solve nothing

The Brazilian president has repeated his call for a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, saying that new Iran sanctions would not be helpful in any way.

On Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that he would also keep working to persuade permanent members of the United Nations Security Council that sanctions against Iran would solve “absolutely nothing.”

“We are convinced that Brazil has the clout to play this role in the world,” Lula added.

He went on to say that he will urge Iran not to develop nuclear weapons when he visits Tehran next month.

“I hope that we can convince our Iranian friends against taking a hasty step toward developing nuclear weapons,” Reuters quoted Lula as saying.

Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has repeatedly declared that its nuclear program is peaceful and is being pursued within the framework of international regulations.

In addition, the International Atomic Energy Agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.