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01/17/2006:

"Iran nuclear bid 'fault of West'"

Saudi Arabia has said the West is partly to blame for the current nuclear stand-off with Iran because it allowed Israel to develop nuclear weapons.

The Saudi foreign minister told the BBC statements made by Iran's president were "extreme" but that diplomacy was the way to resolve the crisis.

Prince Saud al-Faisal was giving a rare interview while in London for a two-day terrorism conference.

He has chosen this visit to call for a nuclear-free zone in the Gulf.
bbc.co.uk

Security Council Members Agree on Iran
LONDON - Russia and China agreed with the United States and its European allies Monday that Iran must fully suspend its nuclear program, but the countries stopped short of demanding referral to the U.N. Security Council, Britain's Foreign Office said. In a conciliatory statement, Iran's ambassador to Moscow praised a Russian proposal to move the Iranian uranium enrichment program to its territory as a step that could resolve the deadlock over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.