Washington: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Tuesday the United States and its partners in the UN Security Council have agreed on a package of "strong" new sanctions to impose on Iran over its suspect nuclear program.
Clinton told a Senate committee that the five permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US -- along with Germany would send a new draft resolution to the entire council later Tuesday after months of painstaking negotiations.
Clinton said the deal had been reached in cooperation with China and Russia, who have previously resisted calls for a new round of sanctions.
And her announcement came just a day after Iran and non-permanent Security Council members Brazil and Turkey said they had agreed on a confidence-building plan for Iran to swap nuclear materials that many believed would blunt the US-led drive for a fourth round of UN penalties on Iran.
"This announcement is as convincing an answer to the efforts undertaken by Tehran over the last few days as any we could provide," Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "There are a number of unanswered questions regarding the announcement coming from Tehran," she said.
"While we acknowledge the sincere efforts of both Turkey and Brazil to find a solution regarding Iran's standoff with the international community over its nuclear program, we are proceeding to rally the international community on behalf of a strong sanctions resolution that will in our view send an unmistakable message about what is expected from Iran," Clinton said.