Washington: The six major powers seeking new sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear programme want the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution soon, a US statement Department has spokesman.

Top officials of the council's five permanent members - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany discussed in Washington a new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran s nuclear activities and the next steps at the UN panel, spokesman Tom Casey said yesterday.

The United States and its European allies are pushing for a new sanctions resolution after the UN atomic watchdog said it could still not confirm if the Iranian atomic drive was peaceful.

Sponsors of the draft said that the IAEA report released on Friday bolsters the case for new sanctions as the agency could not confirm that the Iranian atomic drive was peaceful.

"We continue to expect a vote soon on the draft sanctions resolution currently being discussed in New York," Casey said in a statement.

Britain and France introduced a draft resolution at the Security Council on Thursday. But non-permanent members South Africa, Indonesia, Libya and Vietnam have expressed reservations about the proposed resolution.

The United States and its Western allies want Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment program, which they fear would be used to build an atomic bomb. Iran insists its nuclear program exists for civilian energy purposes.

The six powers are pursuing a carrot-and-stick strategy on Iran, threatening sanctions while at the same time offering economic, scientific and diplomatic cooperation to get the Islamic republic to stop its nuclear drive.

The officials meeting in Washington yesterday "reaffirmed their commitment to the dual track approach for responding to the challenge posed by Iran s nuclear programme," Casey said.

Source : PTI