KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, March 6 (UPI) -- As the United Nations nuclear watchdog met Monday in Vienna met to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear program, Germany said it is worried the ongoing row may escalate.
"We have heard no new and promising Iranian proposal. The situation is serious," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview published in Monday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, referring to last week's failed eleventh-hour talks between all parties.
Steinmeier's comments came as the International Atomic Energy Agency convened to discuss how to deal with the deadlocked crisis. Meanwhile, the leadership in Tehran stepped up its own rhetoric, indicating it may stop oil exports to the West.
The Washington Post quoted Iran's top negotiator, Ali Larijani, as saying: "If we are referred to the (United Nations) Security Council, problems might occur for others as well as us."
"We would not like to use our oil as a weapon. We would not like to make other countries suffer," he said.
The West's position was further undermined by the new nuclear separation deal between the United States and India, according to an expert.
"That clearly makes the discussion more difficult," said Erwin Haeckel, an Iran expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations. "Tehran will argue that the West itself circumvents the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
He added that India, which sits on the IAEA's board of governors, more than likely had to assure its backing of the Western position in the Iran row -- especially when it comes to possible economic sanctions.
India, along with China and Japan, is one of the heaviest importers of Iranian oil.
The IAEA is expected to slow down talks in Vienna to allow for a diplomatic solution before it will issue its recommendations at the end of the week.
Speaking to reporters in Vienna, the agency's director, Mohammed ElBaradei, said while the governor's meeting would start Monday, Iran will not top the agenda until Tuesday or Wednesday.
The IAEA voted last month to report Iran to the Security Council after two-year long talks between Great Britain, France and Germany -- known as the European Union-3 -- broke down in January. A last-minute meeting between all parties last Friday also fell apart.
Egyptian-born ElBaradei said the security of the entire Middle East was at stake.
The IAEA's inspections had not unearthed any diversion of nuclear material to nuclear weapons, he said, but added that there are still a number of "important uncertainties" that need to be clarified.
"Unfortunately the picture is still hazy as to the scope and nature of Iran's nuclear program," said ElBaradei.
Iran, under its international treaty obligations, can enrich uranium. However, the West fears that Tehran is using the process to secretly make a nuclear bomb.
ElBaradei said Iran was presently running some 20 centrifuges, and added the Islamic Republic should stop uranium enrichment until an agreement was found.
For its part, the West still aims for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
"We hope that Iran recognizes that a resolution of the negotiations is in its own vital interests," Steinmeier said.
