A new UN resolution on Iran's atomic research programme will require the Gulf state to offer total transparency or face sanctions, Western diplomats said this evening.
The US, France, Germany and Britain agreed yesterday on a wording that condemns Iran for concealing its atomic programme in the past but encourages its stated new policy of total honesty and full cooperation.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the he was very pleased with the resolution, especially the part which immediately refers any Iranian violation of international agreements to the board of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
One Western diplomat said that Iran, which denies US allegations that it wants atomic weapons, has accomplished its goal and avoided a report to the Security Council for now.
But he said it was not a total victory and warned that if any other secrets - past, present or future - are uncovered, Iran will no longer get the benefit of the doubt from UN nuclear watchdog and will head to the Security Council.
Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Mr Ali Akbar Salehi, said in Iran's Qodsnewspaper "the most important fact is that the United States is failing step-by-step in forming a consensus against Iran."