Tuesday, January 31 2006 12:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: The five permanent members of the UN Security Council reached a surprising agreement today (Jan 31,2006) that Iran should be hauled before that powerful body over its disputed nuclear programme.

China and Russia, longtime allies and trading partners of Iran, signed on to a statement that calls on the UN nuclear watchdog to transfer the Iran dossier to the Security Council, which could impose sanctions or take other harsh actions.

Foreign ministers from those nations, plus the US, Britain and France, also said the Security Council should wait until March to take up the Iran case, after a formal report on Tehran's activities from the watchdog agency.

Foreign ministers from Germany and the European Union also attended the dinner and agreed to take the case to the Security Council but allow a short breather before the council undertakes what could be a divisive debate.

Any of the five permanent members of the Security Council, all nuclear powers themselves, can veto an action voted by the full council membership.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other foreign ministers discussed Iran at a private dinner at the home of British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. After the four-hour meeting, which spilled over into the early hours today, a joint statement called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to report the Iran case when it meets in Vienna on Thursday.

The group agreed that the IAEA "Should report to the Security Council its decision on the steps required of Iran, and should also report to the UNSC all IAEA reports as resolutions as adopted relating to this issue," a statement from the group said.