Emyr Jones Parry said a crucial meeting of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors, scheduled for Monday, would most likely report the Iran nuclear dossier to the Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions.

"It would surprise me if as a result of that Board meeting the issue is not reported to the Security Council, reported to, not referred to," the British envoy told reporters.

"We are not transferring the issue to the Security Council. What we're saying is the dossier is rightly in Vienna but it's right that the Security Council should be appraised of the situation and should make clear its support for what the Board is asking," he noted. "That's what I would expect to happen."

His comments appears to be at odds with the view expressed by US ambassador John Bolton that there is no difference between reporting and referring the issue to the council. A referral would open the way to possible sanctions.

Monday the IAEA said in a report that questions remained about Iran's nuclear program but it stopped short of saying the Islamic republic was secretly seeking a nuclear arms capability.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is solely aimed at generating electricity.

The IAEA has called on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment work but Iran is pushing ahead with this work and fed a 10-centrifuge cascade on February 15 with the uranium gas that is processed into enriched uranium, which can also be fuel for nuclear power reactors.

On February 4, the IAEA's board of governors reported Iran to the Security Council for hiding sensitive nuclear work and losing the confidence of the international community by breaking a suspension of uranium enrichment activities.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani reaffirmed in Moscow Wednesday his country's right to carry out enrichment of uranium by itself for making nuclear fuel, saying it was a "sovereign right of all states."

Larijani spoke to reporters following 11th-hour talks in Moscow on a Russian plan aimed at easing global fears that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

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