UNITED NATIONS, March 20: Russia denied on Tuesday that it had threatened to withhold nuclear fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant if Tehran did not suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the Security Council.

“I can tell you that the report (by The New York Times) is not accurate, that there has been no Russian ultimatum to Iran of any kind,” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told reporters.

“We continue to regard the Bushehr project as something that is outside the scope of (the UN sanctions resolutions),” he said.

Quoting European and American officials the Times said that “the ultimatum was delivered in Moscow last week by Igor S. Ivanov, the secretary of the Russian National Security Council, to Ali Hosseini Tash, Iran’s deputy chief nuclear negotiator, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because a confidential diplomatic exchange between two governments was involved”.

Recently, Moscow and Tehran have been engaged in a public argument about whether Iran has paid its bills, which may explain Russia’s apparent shift. But the ultimatum may also reflect an increasing displeasure and frustration on Moscow’s part with Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium at its vast facility at Natanz.

“We’re not sure what mix of commercial and political motives are at play here,” one senior Bush administration official said in Washington. “But clearly the Russians and the Iranians are getting on each other’s nerves — and that’s not all bad.”

But Tuesday’s statement by the Russian top diplomat here has again disappointed the US and Western nations officials.