VIENNA, Nov 1: The United States said on Thursday Russia and China had been blocking tough UN sanctions against Iran for months and pledged a drive to impose them if Iran did not halt nuclear activity within two weeks.

Iran’s president said he was “not worried at all” about broader economic sanctions, dismissing them as ineffective.

Nicholas Burns, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, said China and Russia had been stalling a new United Nations Security Council resolution since late March.

The five permanent powers on the Security Council plus Germany will meet in London on Friday to weigh the scope for more sanctions. Increased US-Iranian sabre-rattling has raised fear of wider Middle East war if diplomatic pressure fails.

Burns, in Vienna for consultations with the UN nuclear watchdog director, said Iran had been given a grace period since the last UN resolution on March 24.

“Russia and China have been effectively blocking a third resolution since then,” he told reporters. Moscow and Beijing, two of the five veto-holders on the Security Council, have insisted on more time for diplomacy.

US-led western powers agreed in September to delay seeking harsher sanctions after Iran agreed a deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to answer questions about past secrets of its nuclear work within several months.—Reuters