TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday that only diplomacy, not threats to refer it to the U.N. Security Council, could defuse a standoff over its nuclear work and warned that any Western push for sanctions could force up world oil prices. The Security Council's five permanent members and Germany planned talks in London on Monday in search of a common strategy to tackle Iran's resumption of atomic fuel research and development after a two-year moratorium.
Iran says it aims only to make power for an energy-needy economy, not build atom bombs. But it hid nuclear work from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency for almost 20 years before exiled dissidents exposed it in 2002. Last week Tehran scrapped its suspension of research, prompting a diplomatic scramble.
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