Iran warns EU against nuclear sanctions

His comments came ahead of a meeting in Paris of diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany to discuss imposing penalties on Iran for refusing to stop uranium enrichment.

"I'm telling you in plain language that as of now on, if you try, whether in your propaganda or at international organisations, to take steps against the rights of the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation will consider it an act of hostility," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech before thousands in northern Iran.

"And if you insist on pursuing this path," he continued, Iran "will reconsider its relations with you."

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Monday that the six nations were nearing an agreement on a Security Council resolution.

Iran says it is entitled as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. The US and its allies suspect it is developing a weapons programme in secret. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has criticized Iran for concealing significant aspects of its nuclear work and says it has failed to answer all questions about its programme.