Progress made on Iran sanctions: US

The P5 and Germany have been meeting regularly in New York to draft a resolution that will impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran for alleged violations of the NPT.

The US and other Western country suspect that Tehran is using its nuclear programme to make a bomb while Iran insists that its activities are peaceful.

8220;We8217;re working intensively and the pace of our efforts are driven by the urgency we attach to an early and meaningful Security Council resolution,8221; Rice said,noting the US also maintained the right to impose sanctions unilaterally or bilaterally.

8220;The United States and every member state has the sovereign right to pass law that they deem necessary to implement their foreign policy,8221; she told reporters.

Rice noted that Brazil8217;s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva8217;s forthcoming visit was 8220;not impeding progress8221; and expressed hope that Silva would tell the Iranians that 8220;pressure is mounting8221; and 8220;Iran continues to have a choice8221; but if Iran does not make the right choices then the 8220;pressure will intensify.8221;

After attending the NPT review conference nine days ago at the UN,Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that a fresh round of sanctions against his country will be more detrimental to the United States than Iran,and it will also close the door on improving relations between the two countries.

8220;This is nothing new. For 31 years sanctions have been placed on us,8221; Ahmadinejad told reporters. 8220;We feel that and think that the US government will be damaged more than us by those sanctions.

It is very clear that if the US starts sanctions against Iran it means that it is the end of Mr Obamas efforts. It means that no change will occur,8221; he added.

Ahmadinejad slammed Washington for hounding Tehran about its nuclear programme while not pushing Israel,to which he referred to as a 8220;Zionist regime8221;,for getting rid of its nuclear weapons. Israel does not confirm or deny having nuclear arsenal.

Speaking at the conference,Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded by saying that Iran 8220;cynically claimed to be abiding by the treaty while violating its safeguards,expanding its enrichment programme failing to cooperate with the IAEA and ignoring the injunctions of the Security Council.8221;