Iran warns UN against repeating 'sanctions mistake"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the United Nations Security Council cannot "threaten Iran or impose any sanctions on it," the Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

Ahmadinejad was responding to reports saying the Security Council, whose members met in Berlin Tuesday, has decided to call for a third round of sanctions against Iran.

"They cannot force us into anything," said Ahmadinejad. "We suggest they do not make the same mistakes again, since they will not be able to make up for their previous ones."

The new UN resolution, he promised, will not hinder the Iranian nuclear program: "Our position on the matter has always been clear… we see the matter as closed and the UN Security Council will have no bearing on Iran's decisions.

"Iran has been very cooperative with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and no one but them has the right to interfere in Iran's nuclear program," added Ahmadinejad. "The world knows that any illegal moves, made outside the IAEA will not have any effect on Iran what so ever."

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Said Jalili, reiterated his president, telling IRNA Iran hat met all of its obligations: "Iran has gone above and beyond… everyone has admitted our nuclear program is a peaceful one," he told the EU Parliament, while visiting Brussels.

Iran, he stressed, has the right to enrich uranium. Jalili is scheduled to meet EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana later in the week.

Attended by the five members of the UN Security Council, the EU and the German foreign minister, the Berlin meeting resulted in a new sanctions resolution against Iran, which still refuses to suspend it nuclear program.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting that the new draft resolution envisages direct talks with Tehran that would include the United States.

The foreign minister added that the proposed text does not foresee fresh sanctions against Iran, but rather calls on the world's nation "to be vigilant" when dealing with Iran, in order to make sure "none of their current commerce relations will be used for the transportation of forbidden nuclear materials."

A senior US official said the new resolution "increases the severity of the sanctions already in place and will also introduce new elements.

"The US is very pleased because this is our answer to the Iranians - you are not out of the woods yet," the official said.

Washington and its European Union allies have been pushing for a third set of economic and trade sanctions against Iran for defying international demands to stop uranium enrichment activities that they fear could be used to make a bomb.

Reuters and AFP contributed to this report