"Action taken by the Security Council should be incremental - one step at a time. And it should also be reversible so that we can respond to Iranian actions," Mr Straw said in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "We should leave the door open for negotiations with Iran to resume at any stage, should they come into compliance," he added.
ANY action taken against Iran must be "incremental and reversible", Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary said, playing down the prospects of military action against it.
Mr Straw called for greater diplomatic engagement with Tehran after the country was referred to the United Nations Security Council over suspicions concerning its nuclear programme.
"Action taken by the Security Council should be incremental - one step at a time. And it should also be reversible so that we can respond to Iranian actions," Mr Straw said in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "We should leave the door open for negotiations with Iran to resume at any stage, should they come into compliance," he added.
Earlier, Mr Straw had also insisted that launching a war against Iran was not on the cards for the American administration - although no government could ever rule it out.
In what appeared to be a direct appeal to Iranian citizens, the Foreign Secretary also stressed that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, and his policies were taking the country "in the wrong direction" and that his people "deserved better".
