Iran says there is no legal basis for further U.N. Security Council action against its nuclear program, after the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran has made progress and has provided details about its atomic work.
Iranian state media quote Iran's U.N. ambassador, Mohammad Khazee, as saying an IAEA report released Friday proves that allegations made against Iran by some countries have been - as he put it - "totally flawed and baseless."
However, the IAEA report also said Iran is not been providing enough information to prove its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
Earlier this week, France and Britain introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution outlining a third round of sanctions against Iran for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment - a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons.
Senior officials from Germany and the five permanent Security Council members - the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China - plan to meet in Washington Monday to review the new resolution.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday there is a very strong case for moving forward with a new round of sanctions against Iran. She said Tehran continues to enrich uranium and has not answered questions about its past nuclear activities.
The United States and its allies accuse Iran of using its atomic program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
