Press TV - A top Russian diplomat says there are currently no plans to impose new UN Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear drive.

"Now no one is suggesting new sanctions. The council does not plan to hold discussions at this stage," Russian representative to the UNSC Vitaly Churkin told a press conference.

Tehran says the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) -- to which it is a signatory -- grants it the right to a domestic know-how to civilian nuclear industry.

The US, Israel and their European allies, however, accuse Tehran of developing nuclear weaponry -- a charge denied by the UN nuclear watchdog.

The administration of former US President George Bush spearheaded efforts to impose three rounds of UN Security Council sanctions against the country over its refusal to halt nuclear enrichment.

Churkin, meanwhile, urged the UN nuclear watchdog - the International Atomic Energy Agency - to move to resolve the nuclear dispute and reveal the true intentions of Iran's nuclear program.

Russia says it has no evidence that Iran is planning to build a nuclear bomb.

"We hope that this will be a serious dialogue and the (Iran's nuclear) case will never return to the Security Council," Churkin said.

In regards to the prospects of Tehran-Washington reconciliation, the Russian diplomat said that the international community is looking forward to a "constructive dialogue between the US and Iran, which will have an essential importance" on the nuclear standoff.

The United States and Iran have had no diplomatic ties since the aftermath of the 1980 American embassy takeover in Tehran.

US President Barack Obama said in a special message to the Iranian nation and its leaders that Washington was seeking a 'new beginning' with the country.

... Payvand News - 03/31/09 ... --