U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States, Russia and China have reached an agreement on a draft resolution that would impose a fourth round of United Nations sanctions on Iran.
Clinton made the announcement in testimony to a Senate committee Tuesday, a day after Iran announced a plan to send some of its enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for nuclear fuel.
Clinton told lawmakers the draft resolution would be circulated to the entire U.N. Security Council Tuesday.
On Monday, Iran signed an agreement with Turkey and Brazil to send 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for higher-enriched nuclear reactor fuel to be used in a medical research reactor in Tehran.
The United States and other Western powers voiced skepticism about the plan, with the U.S. saying it would continue to press for another round of sanctions.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast accused Western nations Tuesday of "seeking excuses" to avoid resolving the nuclear dispute with his country.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said talk of sanctions could "spoil the atmosphere" and lead to an "escalation" of statements that might "provoke" Iranian public opinion.
The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of working to make a nuclear weapon. Iran says its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.
Russia, China, Britain, France and the United States have veto power as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, which has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with top Cabinet members Tuesday to consider a response to the Iranian plan.
Israel views a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence because of repeated calls by Iranian leaders for the demise of the Jewish state.
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