Jack Straw: We have sought to bring Iran into compliance with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. We've had to do this because in 2003 it became clear that Iran had been secretly constructing a big facility to create enriched uranium at a plant in Natanz and had also failed to declare other nuclear activities in breach of its obligations.

We know too that Iran has been in close touch with A Q Khan, the Pakistan nuclear weapons expert, who in turn has admitted supplying technology and expertise to the Libyans and others, North Koreans, for their covert nuclear weapons programmes. Iran could have been referred to the Security Council in 2003 under the Safeguards Agreement of the Non-Proliferation Treaty because of its then admitted breaches of its obligations. We suspended doing so in return for Iran agreeing to suspend its uranium enrichment and other related activities.

I regret to say that earlier today the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna informed us that Iran had decided to break the seals on its enrichment related facilities at Natanz and to restart or to start research and development of uranium enrichment. But through the introduction of uranium hexafluoride into the centrifuges, this is enrichment. This creates a serious situation for the international community. As President Chirac has said, this is a serious error by Iran and it's one which we internationally have to consider. I am therefore hoping to meet my three colleagues - Javier Solana, Philippe Douste-Blasy and Frank Walter Steinmeier - on Thursday to discuss the next steps which we in the so-called E3 should be taking. Thank you.

Question: Foreign Secretary, how confident are you that this serious diplomatic crisis won't ultimately escalate into some kind of military action like we saw in Iraq?

Jack Straw: I'm as confident as I can be. I made that clear to the British House of Commons earlier this afternoon. This is a matter which has to be resolved by peaceful means but it will involve a good deal of diplomatic and other pressure on Iran. We have shown our good faith in Europe over the last 2½ years.

I do not believe we could have done more to reach out to the Iranians and I may say in doing so we've had good backing from the United States Administration and a very constructive engagement too from Russia and China and from other partners. So it's a matter of huge regret that the Iranians have chosen to take this step today. I hope that they will pull back from it even at this stage, as President Chirac himself has asked as well, but it is serious and it requires a serious response. I'd just add this, that on 24th September Iran was formally declared in breach of its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations by the IAEA Board of Governors. So that finding has already been made.

Question: Foreign Secretary, will you now support reference to the UN Security Council and possible economic sanctions against Iran and how do you feel personally about nuclear weapons material possibly falling into the hands of a leader who has said he wants Israel erased from the map?

Jack Straw: The issue of referral to the Security Council will be top of the agenda at the discussions with my colleagues and Javier Solana, which we are about to finalise, which should take place on Thursday. We will make a decision then. We have worked collectively in the E3 and it's for that group, of which I am a member, to make the decisions. I don't want to make a decision unilaterally but I think it's clear the direction which we are thinking. As I say, we successfully ensured that the Board of Governors in September declared Iran non-compliant and by a bigger majority with only one voting against, Russia and China abstaining, than people had anticipated.

I have never said....we have never said that Iran is definitely seeking a nuclear weapons programme. What we have said - and this is not a matter of intelligence, it's a matter of record from the reports of Dr El Baradei, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency - is that Iran is in clear breach of its obligations. Iran is also seeking to develop a so-called fuel cycle, to manufacture fuel, nuclear fuel when it's got no obvious use for this fuel. It has one nuclear power plant under construction. That's at a place called Bushehr It's a Russian power plant.

The technology is Russian and the fuel will be Russian. When we've pressed the Iranians as to where they're going to use whatever fuel they make, they say rather errantly they may build 10 power stations. Okay but there's no....none of these are in prospect. And let me say, Iran has an absolute right to develop nuclear power plants. It has no right...indeed obligations not to do anything towards developing nuclear weapons facilities and that's what is at issue. And of course the fact that President Ahmadinejad has said, and I quote, that he wishes to see Israel wiped off the face of the map, does not increase international confidence in the statesmanship of the Iranian government. Thank you very much.