Iran's hard-line Guardian Council has approved a bill that would block United Nations inspections of its nuclear facilities and allow it to resume uranium enrichment if it is referred to the U.N. Security Council.
State media report Saturday that the 12-member council approved the measure after deciding it does not contradict the constitution or Islamic law. The parliament already approved the bill last month. The final step will be President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's signature.
The move could jeopardize nuclear talks with Europe that Iran said it expects will resume within weeks. Those talks collapsed in August, when Tehran restarted converting uranium - the precursor of enrichment. Last year, Tehran suspended enrichment as a good faith measure to allay international concerns it is secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge its government denies.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
