Clinton calls for tougher sanctions against Iran

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday warned Iran of greater costs over its defiance on its nuclear programme, saying the provocative acts of Tehran leave little choice to the international community but to impose tougher sanctions on it.

"Iran leaves the international community little choice but to impose greater costs for its provocative steps," she said in her address to the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar.

"Together, we are encouraging Iran to reconsider its dangerous policy decisions. We are now working actively with our regional and international partners, in the context of our dual track approach, to prepare and implement new measures to convince Iran to change its course," she said.

Noting that US position regarding Iran's nuclear programme is simple, she said: "We believe that all states, including Iran, start with the same rights and the same responsibilities.

"According to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, nations have the right to nuclear power so long as they accept the responsibility of demonstrating unequivocally that their programmes are used solely for peaceful civilian purposes."

She alleged that Iran has consistently failed to live up to its responsibility and it had refused to demonstrate to the international community that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

"We joined Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany to endorse an offer to provide Iran with fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which creates medical isotopes for medical treatment. This offer demonstrated a good-faith commitment to working with Iran toward a future civil nuclear programme for peaceful purposes," Clinton said.

"Iran agreed in principle, but then refused the IAEA's terms. Now, Iran has announced that it will increase its enrichment activities to produce up to 20 per cent enriched uranium, in violation of successive United Nations Security Council resolutions," she said adding that its explanation doesn't add up.

"It could have the very enriched uranium it says it seeks by accepting the international IAEA offer. So this has only deepened the international community's doubts about Iran's nuclear intentions, along with increasing isolation of Iranian government," Clinton said.

"Furthermore, since the meeting in Geneva in October, Iranian officials have refused every offer to meet on its nuclear program. So these actions, understandably, have caused us to wonder: What does Iran have to hide? Why is Iran refusing to live up to its international obligations, which would lead to political and economic integration with the international community that would actually benefit the Iranian people?" she asked.