THE SLOVAK Foreign Ministry has welcomed a decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to get tough on Iran by reporting the country's nuclear programme to the UN.
On February 4, the IAEA's Board of Governors voted 27-3 to inform the United Nations Security Council - where Slovakia occupies a seat as a non-permanent member - of what steps Iran must take to restore trust in the allegedly peaceful purposes of its nuclear programme.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Slovakia supports a peaceful solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme through dialogue and negotiation.
Slovakia, as deputy chair of the IAEA Board of Governors, together with the majority of the other members of the Board, supported the resolution in an effort to strengthen the international community's diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue, the SITA news agency wrote.
Iran responded by terming the IAEA action "hasty and unjustified", halting all voluntary cooperation with the UN nuclear agency, and ordering it to remove its remaining surveillance equipment in the country.
