Iran denies it is ready to stone woman to death

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Foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki made the announcement after fears rose in the West that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's execution was imminent.

The International Committee against Stoning and International Committee against Execution claimed this week that Iran had given the go-ahead for Ms Ashtiani's execution, and that it could happen today. The group would not provide details on where its information came from.

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner today said his country was "very worried" about the case, but that Mr Mottaki had assured him reports about her execution "don't correspond to reality".

The EU's foreign policy chief, Baroness Ashton, was "deeply concerned" by the reports and "demands that Iran halt the execution and convert her sentence".

Iran temporarily suspended the stoning verdict and suggested Ms Ashtiani might be hanged instead.

Ms Ashtiani was convicted in May 2006 of having an "illicit relationship" with two men after the death of her husband, for which a court in the northern city of Tabriz sentenced her to 99 lashes.

Later that year she was also convicted of adultery, despite having retracted a confession, which she claims was made under duress.

Malek Ajdar Sharifi, a judiciary official, accused the West of spreading false news.