News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had harsh words for European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana during a joint news conference that followed their meeting Wednesday afternoon in Jerusalem. The two were addressing reporters' question about the EU's stand on imposing further sanctions on Iran in the ongoing effort to force the Islamic Republic to end its nuclear development activities.

Solana declined to answer a question about a report he intends to present to the United Nations Security Council, saying only that he would be meeting with Iranian representatives in the near future.

"I would have thought that your answer would be 'yes' to sanctions on Iran, Livni told him. Israel is concerned the EU will minimize Iran's stepped-up nuclear activities, thus leading to another split vote over further sanctions by the Security Council.