World Jewish Congress urges EU to be tougher on Iran

The president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Thursday called on the European Union to take a harder line against Iran to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons.

WJC head Ronald Lauder was in Brussels to hold talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Lauder also called on European business leaders to show restraint in dealing with Iran and respect not just the letter but also the spirit of the international sanctions regime.

"Unfortunately, some Western governments - but also China and Russia - have either deluded themselves that Tehran is a serious partner for negotiations, or have knowingly gone along with this fiction in pursuit of their own parochial economic and political interests," Lauder said in a statement.

"Time is of essence. Europe should take the nuclear threat more seriously because Iran is continuously expanding the range and quality of its missiles," said WJC president.

The WJC represents Jewish communities from 92 countries including Israel, which fears being directly targeted by an Iranian nuclear program.

At last week's G8 summit in the Italian city of L'Aquila, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said world powers would give Iran until a meeting of Group of 20 (G20) leading economies in the U.S. in September to reach an agreement with the West on its controversial nuclear program.

G8 leaders also issued a joint statement urging Iran to cooperate with international nuclear inspectors.