MOSCOW, April 21: Russia on Friday ruled out sanctions on Iran without proof Tehran is hiding a nuclear arms programme, dealing a blow to US efforts to forge a united international front against Iran.

Moscow also said it was ‘categorically’ opposed to the use of force to keep Iran’s nuclear program in check and vowed to carry on selling sophisticated conventional weapons systems to Tehran despite US objections.

“Sanctions can be discussed only when there are concrete facts showing that Tehran’s nuclear activity is not exclusively peaceful,” Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told reporters.

Another official, deputy foreign minister Sergei Kislyak, said: “We are categorically against the use of force on this question and all our work will be based on this.”

US President George Bush has refused to rule out military action against Iran, saying two days earlier that ‘all options are on the table’, although he preferred a diplomatic solution

The deputy head of Russia’s security council, Nikolay Spassky, said Moscow saw no reason to comply with US wishes that it halt conventional weapons deals with Iran before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had reached definitive conclusions about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to report to the UN Security Council by April 28 on whether Iran has complied with UN demands for a halt to uranium enrichment and for coooperation with the IAEA.

“There are no circumstances that raise obstacles to fulfilment of our obligations in military technical cooperation with Iran,” Mr Spassky was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

“This means fulfilling all obligations, including obligations on delivery to Iran of the Tor-M1 air defence system,” Mr Spassky said.

Mr Spassky admitted that Russia, which is helping Iran build its first nuclear power station, had questions about aspects of Iran’s nuclear work and issued a stern call on Tehran to work with the IAEA to answer those questions to the world’s satisfaction.

A Russian proposal to enrich uranium for Iran to use as nuclear fuel, however, remained on the table and should be considered a way of ‘assisting’ Iran until all questions about its nuclear intentions were cleared up, he said.

“At the end of this period, Iran can return to its full rights in the nuclear energy sphere,” Mr Spassky said.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov also weighed in, saying the worsening international standoff over Iran’s nuclear program had implications for Russia’s national security.

“It is precisely for this reason that Russia is calling for a political-diplomatic solution to the Iranian problem,” he was quoted by news agencies as saying.

Commenting on the possibility of military force being used against Iran, Mr Ivanov said: “The danger that not everything will go according to plan exists in any war.”

The United States accuses Iran of hiding a nuclear weapons program behind its atomic energy work, a charge Tehran denies.

Backed by its European allies, the United States has been pushing for quick and firm action to curb Iran’s nuclear work. But China and Russia are showing resistance.

Top diplomats from the UN Security Council permanent members held talks in Moscow on the Iran impasse on Tuesday. They agreed Tehran’s nuclear work was a worry, but remained divided on tactics to address it, officials from the participating countries said. —AFP