U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson said on Tuesday that Iran's nuclear program was a threat to both the Middle East region and the world.

Speaking at a press conference in Adana in southern Turkey, Wilson was quoted by Turkey's semi-official Anatolia news agency as saying that diplomatic ways were preferred to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

The United States was working with the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to deal with this problem, indicating that they also expected Turkey's support on this matter, Wilson said.

He added that the U.S. was pleased with the Turkish government's attitude on Iran's nuclear issue.

In addition, Wilson recalled earlier statements of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Washington planned to open a representative office in Iran in order to further improve relations with Iran and to have more information about this country.

Wilson's remarks came as the IAEA board of governors is convening in Vienna to discuss a latest report on the Iranian nuclear file. The report is expected to be presented to the UN Security Council, which might lead to sanctions on Iran.

On Feb. 4, the IAEA adopted a resolution to report Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council but called on the council to withhold punitive actions until the March meeting.

Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham urged the IAEA on Monday to "judge Iran's nuclear case on the basis of facts and law and not to be subdued by political demands of certain countries."

On Sunday, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani warned that the Islamic Republic would have to resume large-scale uranium enrichment if hauled to the UN Security Council.

The tension over Iran's nuclear issue has hiked since Tehran resumed nuclear fuel research work on Jan. 10 and the crisis escalated as Iran prohibited the IAEA's snap inspections and resumed small-scale enrichment work, a retaliative move against the IAEA's February resolution.

The United States has long accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons under a civilian front, a charge categorically denied by Iran, which insists that its nuclear program is fully peaceful and aimed to meet rising domestic demand for electricity.

Turkey has voiced support to Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear technology, but at the same time urged the Islamic Republic to take necessary steps to end the current standoff over its nuclear program.

Ankara has also suggested that Iran should cooperate fully and transparently with the IAEA.

Source: Xinhua