UNITED NATIONS, March 23: The 15-member Security Council is expected to vote on Saturday on the new draft resolution which expands the sanctions on Tehran for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment programme, western diplomats said on Friday.

The five permanent members – China, Russia, Britain, France and the United States – plus Germany made minor changes to the sanctions and finalised the text for a Security Council vote. They rejected a proposed 90-day "time out" on all sanctions sought by South Africa .

"Our intention is that there should be a vote on Saturday," Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry told reporters after the meeting.

Acting US ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States also rejected amendments by Indonesia and Qatar calling for the Middle East to be free of weapons of mass destruction and missiles to deliver them because the resolution deals only with Iran's nuclear programme.

Wolff and French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said they hope the UN Security Council will vote on the resolution this week.

It's "getting a little bit harder but it's still possible," Wolff said.

Diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity, said the draft was expected to receive overwhelming support tomorrow for one final consideration. But the text is in blue," indicating it is ready for an imminent vote.

The new sanctions proposed by the six powers would ban Iranian arms exports and freeze the assets of 28 additional individuals and organisations involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. About one-third of those are linked to the Revolutionary Guard, an elite military corps.

The package also calls for voluntary restrictions on travel by the individuals subject to sanctions, on arms sales to Iran and on new financial assistance or loans to the Iranian government.