By Keith Weir
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain froze business ties with an Iranian bank and state-run shipping firm on Monday, citing fears that they were involved in helping the Islamic Republic to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran dismissed the move and a separate U.S. warning that major powers would not wait forever for Tehran to prove it was not developing nuclear bombs, saying any threats or deadlines would have no impact.
The freeze targets Bank Mellat and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, both of which have previously faced sanctions from the United States. The U.S. Treasury welcomed the action, calling it a step forward in protecting the financial system.
Making an order under counter-terrorism laws rather than U.N. sanctions, Britain said it was convinced that Iran's disputed nuclear programme was a threat to its security.
"The Treasury is satisfied, as required by the Act, that activity in Iran that facilitates the development or production of nuclear weapons poses a significant risk to the national interests of the UK," Treasury minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said in a written statement to parliament.
The Treasury said it welcomed recent talks between Iran and six world powers, including Britain, but said that action was needed now against the two businesses, accusing them of links to nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
Asked about the timing of the move, a Treasury spokesman said "When the government identifies such activities, it is committed to curtailing them."
The action follows criticism of Iran from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband at a news conference in London on Sunday.
Iran, which says its nuclear work is for peaceful electricity generation, agreed at a meeting in Geneva on October 1 to allow U.N. inspectors access to a newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom.
The Islamic state has repeatedly rejected demands to halt its sensitive nuclear work, despite three rounds of U.N. sanctions since 2006. Progress in the Geneva talks was seen as heading off calls for an immediate round of tougher sanctions.
CLINTON CALL
Iranian suspicions of London date back to British imperial rule in the Middle East and Iran warned Britain that its latest move was likely to rebound on it.
"If the British government decided to impose sanctions against Iran this would show that Britain is getting far from the realities of the current world and such a trend will be against the interests of the British people," Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a media adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told Reuters.
Britain does far less business with Iran than other European countries such as Germany, Italy and France.
On Sunday Clinton said the world would not wait indefinitely for evidence that Iran was prepared to live up to its international obligations.
And on a visit to Moscow this week she will ask Russia's leaders to clarify their position.
"The secretary will want to speak to Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov and President (Dmitry) Medvedev about what specific forms of pressure Russia would be prepared for to join us and other allies if Iran fails to live up to its obligations," a State Department official said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi reiterated on Monday Iran's refusal to discuss its "nuclear rights" with the six world powers -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, backed the British move on freezing business.
"Bank Mellat and IRISL have well-established records of engaging in deceptive practices to hide their support for Iran's U.N.-designated proliferation firms, and today's action by the UK is therefore a significant step forward in protecting the integrity of the financial system," he said in a statement.
The state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) has a fleet of around 100 ships used to transport consumer goods and commodities such as coal, grain and iron ore into Iran, its website said.
The British statement accused it of shipping material for missile programmes.
"Vessels of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines have transported goods for both Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes," it said.
"Similarly, Bank Mellat has provided banking services to a U.N. listed organisation connected to Iran's proliferation-sensitive activities, and been involved in transactions related to financing Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programme."
(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Tehran, Jonathan Saul in London, Glenn Somerville in Washington and Jeff Mason in Moscow)
