Condoleezza threatens Iran with sanctions

Iran was today given its toughest warning yet on nuclear arms.

It came from US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice who said Iran must accept European proposals and give up its suspected nuclear weapons programme.

She said failure to do so could end in UN sanctions. "If they are unwilling to take the deal ... the Security Council looms," she said.

Speaking in Paris before leaving for Brussels, she said: "I don't know that anyone has said that as clearly as they should."

Her comments were designed to pressure Tehran and to spur European powers to get tougher with the Islamic republic.