Washington: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that there is "a very strong case" for imposing a fresh round of UN sanctions against Iran over its contested nuclear program.

Rice told reporters that yesterday s new International Atomic Energy report bolstered the case against Iran, adding there is "very good reason to proceed after this report to a third Security Council resolution."

Iran is not only failing to obey calls to halt its uranium enrichment activities but is actually enhancing them as well as making defiant statements to the international community, Rice said.

"It hasn t answered questions about past activities in covert programs that they say they didn t have," Rice said.

"I think that this report demonstrates that whatever the Iranians may be doing to try to clean up some elements of the past, it is inadequate, given their current activities, given questions about their past activities," she said.

"If you just look at that record, I would have to say there is a very strong case for moving forward on the Security Council resolution," Rice said.

With the level of progress among world powers for a new resolution, she said, "I see no reason that we can t move toward a security council resolution with some dispatch."

Key European powers Thursday formally introduced an amended package of new sanctions in the UN Security Council to pressure Iran into halting sensitive nuclear fuel work and hoped for a vote next week.

The core elements of the draft were approved by foreign ministers of the five veto-wielding council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany at a meeting last month. (AFP) ETB 02230629 DEL NNNN

Source : PTI