The United States expects the United Nations Security Council will take up Iran's nuclear issue early next week, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs Nicholas Burns said on Friday.

"The next talks are going to be at the Security Council early next week," Burns said.

"We will ask Iran to suspend its nuclear program and return to negotiations and should Iran not do that, the Security Council, we believe, should take a series of graduated steps designed to increase the pressure on the Iranian regime," Burns said.

Burns said Iran had defied a deal between the United States, Russia and several other countries that gave Teheran a 30-day period for diplomacy to work.

"So early next week we begin discussions in the Security Council. It will shine a very bright spotlight on Iran," he said.

The United States has insisted on referring Iran's nuclear issue to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions. However, Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has been reluctant to do so.

The United States has said that it does not seek immediate United Nations sanctions on Iran, but it will seek a strong statement on Iran before a much tougher United Nations resolution on the country.

Source: Xinhua