UN chief says onus is on Iran in nuclear dispute

AP -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged a resumption of dialogue between Western powers and Iran on their nuclear dispute Friday, and said Tehran must comply with Security Council resolutions and prove conclusively that its nuclear development program is not directed to making arms.

"The onus is on Iran," said Ban, speaking here at a press conference during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

"They have to prove themselves that their nuclear development program is genuinely for peaceful purposes, which they have not done yet." he said.

Ban expressed concern at the most recent report of the International Atomic Energy Agency that strongly suggested that Iran nuclear program, which it long has claimed is for development of power generation, has a military intent.

In spite of his tough words to Iran, Ban said that dialogue with the "three-plus-three" Germany, France and Britain plus Russia, China and the United States is the path forward.

"There is no other alternative for addressing this crisis than peaceful ... resolution through dialogue," said Ban.

Ban noted that there have been a total of five Security Council resolutions so far on the Iranian nuclear program, four calling for sanctions.

As tensions have been on the rise recently, some political leaders in Israel and the United States have been speaking increasingly of the possibility of a military strike to eliminate, or at least slow down, what they allege is a determined effort by Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.