Ahead of the council's private consultations, US Ambassador John Bolton said amendments proposed by the Russians to a European draft resolution last week were not "consistent with" what foreign ministers of six major powers tackling the Iranian nuclear issue had agreed last summer.

But his Russian counterpart, Vitaly Churkin, disagreed, saying after the council consultations: "We believe our approach, our proposals are fully in conformity with the understanding by the ministers."

The Russian and US delegations have both offered amendments to the draft prepared by Britain, France and Germany that mandates nuclear- and ballistic-missile-related trade sanctions.

The text also calls for a freeze on assets related to Iran's nuclear and missile programs and travel bans on scientists involved in those programs.

But it would allow Russia to continue building the one-billion-dollar nuclear power plant in Bushehr -- an exemption that diplomats say is crucial to efforts to gain Moscow's approval.

Tuesday's closed-door consultations were the first by the entire 15-member council on the draft.

The text has already been the subject of two informal meetings among envoys of Germany and the council's five veto-wielding members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- over the past two weeks.

Bolton said envoys of the council's permanent members and Germany would meet again informally Tuesday afternoon to discuss the Russian and US amendments.

"The discussions are still at a very preliminary stage," said Peru's UN envoy Jorge Voto-Bernales, the council president for November. "There is still much work to do ... No time frame has been put forward."

He said the sponsors had offered to present the council with a more precise text once there is more progress in the bargaining among the six powers tackling the nuclear standoff with Tehran.

"The Russian amendments narrow the scope of the sanctions while the US proposals would broaden the scope of the sanctions," a Western diplomat close to the discussions said.

A diplomatic source said Moscow opposed the proposed travel ban and assets freeze in the draft and would only accept a ban on "sensitive" technologies.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack expressed some impatience about the pace of UN negotiations on the Iran sanctions.

"We believe that the matter merits some degree of urgency, because as we have these discussions, the Iranians are proceeding along their merry way, spinning their centrifuges, getting every single day a little bit better at this," he noted.

"We believe the way you stop that is by increasing the diplomatic pressure on them," McCormack added. "It's important to speak with one voice on this matter ultimately. There can be debates along the way... But ultimately the signal that is sent to the Iranians must be a clear, strong one."

"We have not proposed our own draft," Churkin said, insisting that there were "no major gaps" between his suggestions and the European text.

He said however Moscow was pressing for the removal of some elements which it felt did not belong in the text.

Last week Churkin made it clear that the purpose of any future Security Council action was to encourage Iran to come back to the negotiating table, not to turn it away from negotiations.

Diplomatic sources meanwhile said Washington was pressing for language making it clear that the Iranian nuclear program represents a "threat to international peace and security".

Asked to comment on this point, Churkin replied Tuesday: "We don't see it that way."

Asked whether the Russians were backing away from their commitments, McCormack said Tuesday: "We have an agreement with them. There's an understanding. Everybody knows what that is. And the understanding is that we now, absent Iranian compliance with what the international community has demanded of them, go to the sanctions resolution."

In a related development, the Russian foreign ministry announced Tuesday that Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Motaki would confer with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Iran's nuclear program and other issues during a visit to Moscow Thursday and Friday.

Iran faces sanctions after spurning an August 31 Security Council deadline to halt its uranium enrichment program -- a process that can lead to the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.

The six powers have offered Tehran a package of economic and diplomatic incentives if it gives up the enrichment program.

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