UK group opposing role for Iran

There are fears in the West over Iran's nuclear ambitions

Negotiating with Iran will not work in solving Iraq's problems, a group of British Parliamentarians has said.

The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom supports the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which opposes the current Iranian government.

At a London briefing the group said Iran was "the major part" of Iraq's problems and called negotiating with Tehran "a recipe for disaster".

Chairman Lord Corbett said: "The golden rule is... don't talk to terrorists."

The report's suggestion followed the proposals made by Washington's Iraq Study Group, published on Wednesday, which suggested talking to Iraq's neighbours to solve the region's problems.

Deal robustly

Lord Corbett, speaking at the press conference in the Houses of Parliament, said the West needed to "deal robustly" and start sanctions.

"The mix of rampant fundamentalism and nuclear weapons is a lethal cocktail," he said.

The report said neither military action nor appeasement would work when it came to dealing with Iran.

It also suggested that the West should deal with the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), currently blacklisted by Western governments.

The policy report also suggested comprehensive sanctions should be imposed.

PMOI is currently on the UK's proscribed list of terrorist organisations

In a major foreign policy speech in London last month, Prime Minister Tony Blair said a "whole Middle East" policy includes co-operation with Syria and Iran.