US will back new Iran sanctions

The US wants a new resolution on Iran agreed 'with some dispatch'

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said there is a "very strong case" for a third round of sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.

She spoke as the UN nuclear agency said it could offer no "credible assurances" that Iran was not building a bomb.

UN Security Council members the US, UK, China, France and Russia meet on Monday in Washington to mull their next step.

But Iran's top nuclear negotiator said the UN report backed Tehran's claim its nuclear programme was peaceful.

Tehran refuses to stop enriching uranium, insisting its work is aimed purely at generating electricity.

Travel bans

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report did praise Iran for granting its inspectors access to previously off-limits sites, but said it remained evasive on key issues.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes

The nuclear watchdog struck a deal last August with Iran on a timetable to resolve questions over aspects of its past nuclear activities.

But Friday's report said Tehran had evaded a proper response to claims it had made secret efforts to "weaponise" nuclear material.

It had also ducked questions about alleged high explosives testing and design work on a missile warhead, the IAEA found, noting: "This is a matter of serious concern."

Iran was also still openly enriching uranium in defiance of UN resolutions and testing advanced centrifuges to speed up the process, said the inspectors.

The US secretary of state said: "This report demonstrates that whatever the Iranians may be doing to try to clean up some elements of the past, it is inadequate given their current activities.

"What we all have to worry about... is the future in which Iran could start to perfect the technologies that could lead to a nuclear weapon."

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili told reporters: "This report showed that our activities are peaceful."

But BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the IAEA findings are definitely not a clean bill of health.

On Thursday, Britain and France introduced a UN Security Council resolution - a draft of which was approved last month - with support from the US, Russia, China and Germany.

It seeks to expand the number of Iranian companies targeted by sanctions and impose travel bans on certain Iranian officials.

A declassified US intelligence report last December judged that the Iranians had put a nuclear weapons program on hold in 2003.

But the US, Israel and others contend Iran's continued advances in the crucial centrifuge work will eventually give it a capability to build a bomb.

UN Security Council rebukes Burma

The UN Security Council has adopted a statement deploring Burma's military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The agreement came after China lifted its objections to a statement first drafted by the US, UK and France.

It represents the first time the 15-nation body has taken any formal action over Burma.

The move indicates a shift of position by China, which had previously used its veto to stop the council from criticising Burma's military junta.

The statement "strongly deplores the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators" in Burma and calls on the junta and all other parties "to work together toward a de-escalation of the situation and a peaceful solution".

It also calls for the early release of "all political prisoners and remaining detainees", urging the junta to prepare for a "genuine dialogue" with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The non-binding statement - which, unlike a resolution, requires the consent of all 15 council members to be adopted - was issued by Ghana's UN Ambassador Leslie Christian, the council's president.

US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said the statement was an important achievement.

"Our expectation is that this statement will have... a positive impact on the situation on the ground in terms of government behaviour and if it doesn't we're committed to coming back," he said.

Dr Thaung Htun, the UN representative for Burma's government-in-exile, said it sent a clear message to the generals to end violence and begin political dialogue.

"But the Security Council should closely monitor the situation and then evaluate how the military respond to the statement," he warned.

Gambari to return

Meanwhile, the UN said special envoy Ibrahim Gambari would tour Asia this weekend in a trip expected to culminate in his second visit to Burma since the demonstrations erupted last month.

Mr Gambari returned from a four-day visit to the country last week and had not been expected to return until mid-November.

His visit is aimed at kick-starting a political dialogue and securing the release of political detainees.

Rangoon says 10 people were killed and 2,100 arrested as last month's demonstrations, many of which were led by Buddhist monks, were quelled.

But foreign diplomats and analysts fear both figures could be far higher.

Dissidents and human rights groups have long accused Burma's regime of torturing political prisoners.

The government adamantly rejects all allegations of torture, and Burma's state-run media argue that more than half of those arrested during the protests have since been released.

However, there has been little news about some several hundred still believed to be in detention.

And earlier on Thursday, a pro-democracy activist arrested during the crackdown was reported as having died in custody.

Win Shwe, 42, a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), died "as a result of torture during interrogation", the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said.