Iran nuke report goes to Security Council

VIENNA, March 8 (UPI) -- The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency forwarded its report on Iran's nuclear program Wednesday to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

The Security Council has the power to impose political and economic sanctions, the BBC reported, but it is not clear whether enough member nations would vote to apply them.

The United States and Europe suspect Iran is trying to acquire the technology and material to build nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is for energy purposes only and has promised to carry out vague threats if sanctions are imposed.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is being forwarded to the Security Council, was leaked to the media last week. It says the Iranians have begun feeding uranium gas into centrifuges, a first step in a process that can produce fuel for either nuclear reactors or bombs, the BBC said. The report could not confirm that Iran wasn't seeking nuclear weapons.

Speaking to the media, IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei said his agency "will continue to do inspections in Iran and continue to ask Iran to be as transparent as possible. We will continue to do the verification, while the Security Council deliberates on the global picture."

He added a settlement is needed "that assures Iran its peaceful right to nuclear energy. But at the same time assures the international community that Iran´s program is exclusively for peaceful purposes."