German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder warned Iran on Tuesday against resuming sensitive nuclear activities, saying the West would not be divided in its opposition to Tehran building an atomic bomb.

Schroeder said the Iranian government could not pit European countries against each other over the issue, urging Iran not to make any "unilateral arrangements" during its ongoing negotiations with Germany and its EU partners Britain and France.

The chancellor, who was accepting a peace prize from a German charity foundation, said the European Union was ready to offer major economic incentives if Tehran made significant efforts at resolving a "difficult and highly sensitive" situation.

He said that Iran would be making a mistake if it doubted the West's firm resolve to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

On Monday, Iran announced it would remove the seal on the uranium conversion facilities in Isfahan after the deadline for the European Union to submit its proposal on Iran's controversial nuclear program was ignored by the European Union.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also called on Iran Tuesday not to restart its nuclear activities before receiving the latest European proposals aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the issue.

The European Three -- France, Britain and Germany -- have been working together with Iran on reaching a long-term solution to the nuclear issue.

Source: Xinhua