TEHRAN -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi said cooperation between Iran and the European Union will only be possible in an atmosphere of confidence building and on an equal footing without any preconditions.

"As it has been asserted before, we believe in continuation of dialogue in an atmosphere of confidence building without any preconditions," he said, adding that the imposition of preconditions and the use of threatening language are totally unacceptable, IRNA reported.

According to the Press Bureau of the Foreign Ministry, Assefi said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always underlined its commitment to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has been cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its transparent and peaceful nuclear program.

Western media claimed on Monday that European Union foreign ministers announced at their meeting in Brussels that if the Islamic Republic of Iran refuses to cooperate with the IAEA, relations between the two sides will become strained.

Professor Haidari, an expert in international relations, said the EU will not risk damaging its relations with the U.S. for the sake of its dealings with Iran, adding that the EU and the U.S. have adopted a coordinated stance toward Iran and this policy will last for a considerable time. Haidari told the Mehr News Agency that some European states, including France, Germany and Russia, have strongly opposed the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, saying that it is a violation of the UN Charter, but the U.S. blacklisted some of those countries and put economic pressure on them, causing the EU to change its position toward Iran in order to decrease friction with the U.S.

He said the EU and the U.S. have decided to put pressure on Iran to force it to change its approach toward nuclear programs, human rights, the Middle East issue, and terrorism. He believes the EU and the U.S. are trying to create a change in Iranian diplomatic and political behavior in the region and the world.

The university professor stated that the recent shift in EU policy toward Iran is serious and may cause some problems for Iran and any illogical statement by Iranian officials in this regard may cause many problems for the country.

Daryoush Mortazavi, an expert in politics and international relations, also expressed similar views about the EU stance toward Iran. Mortazavi said that all the covert and overt efforts by the U.S. to find a common strategy toward Iran with the EU bore fruit in the EU position on Monday.

Mortazavi said the EU and the U.S. have reached the conclusion that they should adopt a common strategy toward Iran.

He said the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels took place after the U.S. president accused Iran and Syria of harboring terrorists and said this is completely unacceptable.

“The European Union, Russia, and the United States are moving toward a common policy toward Iran, and Iran should slow this down by positive actions,” university professor and expert in international affairs Hermidas Bavand told the Mehr News Agency.

He said that the EU and certain Western countries have adopted a harder stance toward Iran due to recent events in the Islamic Republic.

He went on to say that some Western European countries opposed the U.S. war against Iraq and U.S. occupation of that country, but after the United Nations issued a resolution prohibiting exploitation of the energy resources of Iraq, various Western countries, especially Germany and France, aligned themselves with the U.S. policy and began trying to make Iran a scapegoat.

Bavand stressed that the first step of this plan was the official declaration at the G8 summit in Evian, France which called on Iran to sign the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) unconditionally. He said that then the EU issued a resolution conditioning its constructive economic and trade negotiations with the Islamic Republic on Iran signing the additional protocol, making progress on human rights, not supporting terrorism, and not obstructing the road map Middle East peace plan.

Furthermore, the British policy toward our country, which was thought to be different from the U.S. policy, became the same as the U.S. policy, Bavand noted, adding that Blair’s speeches in the British House of Commons and in the U.S. Congress made this clear.

He believes that there is a long-term alliance between the EU, the U.S., and Russia against Iran.

He said that the stances taken by countries outside the region toward regional issues are tactical, meaning that when they feel something is in line with their interests they come together.