SARI, Iran - Iran's president warned Washington's European allies on Tuesday that Iran would reconsider its relations with them if they insist on punishing Tehran for its nuclear programs, saying that would amount to an act of "hostility."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shakes hands with Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the start of their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006. [AP]

His comments came ahead of a meeting in Paris of diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany to discuss imposing penalties on Iran for refusing to stop uranium enrichment.

"I'm telling you in plain language that as of now on, if you try, whether in your propaganda or at international organizations, to take steps against the rights of the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation will consider it an act of hostility," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech before thousands in northern Iran.

"And if you insist on pursuing this path," he continued, Iran "will reconsider its relations with you."