Mr President, the Iranian authorities persist in enriching uranium at a suspicious level which is incompatible with their stated 'peaceful civilian purposes'. We say that we are strengthening sanctions, but are we sending strong enough warnings to all European agents that sanctions are not to be circumvented this time? This is a very dangerous year, with US elections on the horizon and intense sabre rattling in some quarters in the US, Israel, and even in Europe.

The EU should rule out a military solution which can only spell disaster for the region and beyond, notably Israel. Instead, in our dual-track approach, we should consider exploring a broader settlement by all diplomatic means. We could do this by recognising Iran as a regional power and establishing a diplomatic mission in Tehran and by shifting the non-proliferation focus to an internationally controlled fuel bank which Iran could access. We could create a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free Middle East by working for regional security and economic arrangements, which would include Saudi Arabia and possibly Israel, thus guaranteeing inviolability of current borders and economic progress for the region. And we could send clear support and solidarity to the Iranian people, namely those fighting for basic human rights, making clear that sanctions will not target the people and produce counterproductive effects that would only fuel the opportunistic propaganda of the regime