Iran fails in bid to divide world powers: US official

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, speaking on Fox News Sunday, also outlined some of the possible sanctions Tehran could face it it fails to stop uranium enrichment by August 31, as demanded in the draft resolution.

"I think the Iranians are cornered," Burns told Fox. "The Iranians thought they were going to be able to continue their nuclear activities at their plant at Natanz unfettered by the international community.

"What they specifically thought was that they could divide China and Russia, on the one hand, from the United States and Europe on the other, and that's not happened," he said.

"We'll be voting this week a UN Security Council resolution that will mandate the suspension of Iran's nuclear programs, and it will say that if Iran doesn't do that by August 31 that the Security Council, including China and Russia, will agree on a sanctions regime against Iran," he said.

"I don't think Iran counted on this. I think they've been surprised by it. And it's good that we're mounting pressure," Burns said. "This is going to be a significant blow to them."

Asked what type of sanctions Iran could face, Burns said: "Obviously, we're going to have to focus on the nuclear industry and try to cut off dual-use exports, exports of technologies that can help them further their enrichment and reprocessing activities.

"We certainly would like to inhibit the ability of Iranians to travel, Iranian government officials, or for people to profit from our scientific and technological expertise," he added.

The United States and its allies believe that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb and US President George W. Bush said Friday the Islamic republic "will not be allowed" to do so.

Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- the five permanent members of the Security Council -- and Germany drew up the draft resolution during weeks of painstaking talks and it was distributed to the 15 UN Security Council nations on Friday. US ambassador John Bolton said a vote could be held early this week.

Russia and China have led opposition to any mention of sanctions in the resolution.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful but has refused to comply with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) orders to suspend uranium enrichment and other activities.

Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signalled Sunday that Israeli attacks against the Palestinian territories and Lebanon may cause Iran to harden its stance in the dispute over its nuclear program.

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