Brown tells Iran to abandon nuke plans

LONDON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Britain's prime minister said Iran faces stringent international sanctions if it doesn't end its uranium enrichment program.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in his first major foreign policy speech, Monday night proposed a global ban on companies developing Iran's gas and oil fields if Iran fails to curb its atomic ambitions, The Times of London reported.

Brown also said he would seek tougher penalties through the United Nations and the European Union unless Iran ended support for terrorism and transformed its diplomatic relationships with the world.

"Iran should be in no doubt about our seriousness of purpose," Brown said, advocating "hard-headed intervention" through diplomacy rather than military intervention.

Speaking at the Lord Mayor's Banquet at Guildhall, Brown called the United States Britain's most important bilateral relation and urged Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to end his martial law, free all political prisoners and resign as head of Pakistan's army.

Brown also proposed reforming the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.