"The reason we favor taking it to the Security Council is, we want to put Iran in the international spotlight, in the agency and the UN system responsible for such matters, to change the global political dynamic, to increase the pressure on Iran to give up pursuit of nuclear weapons," Bolton said at a conference at the American Enterprise Institute.

"It raises the stakes for Iran. In the Security Council their options narrow."

The International Atomic Energy Agency has called on Tehran to immediately halt all activities related to uranium enrichment, a process that can make the explosive material for nuclear weapons.

The United States claims Iran is hiding a covert weapons development program and wants the agency to bring Iran before the UN Security Council in November.

Iran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and insists it has a right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program.

For his part, Bolton denied that Washington was automatically seeking council action against Tehran.

"It is simply not the case that referral to the Security Council results in any kind of automatic Security Council action," he said.

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