VIENNA: Iran faces the risk of sanctions after a UN nuclear watchdog report yesterday is likely to find that Teheran has ignored a deadline to halt an atomic fuel programme Western leaders say could lead to bombs.

Ahead of the August 31 deadline, Teheran vowed "never" to scrap the project and dedicated one of its cornerstones, a heavy-water production plant, for good measure. It also continues to enrich uranium in small quantities at a pilot plant, diplomats say.

The UN Security Council asked International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to spell out if the Islamic Republic had heeded the deadline set in a July 31 resolution.

"The outcome is obvious. No one really expected otherwise," a senior diplomat close to the IAEA said when asked if ElBaradei would judge Iran in defiance of the Security Council.

Diplomats said Washington felt the 30-day grace period given Iran was a fair chance for it to change its mind and if it did not, it could persuade other members on the Council to back sanctions once the deadline expired.

But Iran's deft August 22 reply to an offer of incentives not to pursue enrichment, hinting it could curb the work as a result of talks but not as a precondition, has led to some differences among the six big powers handling Teheran's case.

Russia and China have called for a return to talks while key Council allies of Washington, Britain and France, have dampened US predictions of a swift resort to sanctions next month.

Two Western diplomats said some EU states were pushing for discussions with Iran on specifics of its reply even if the Iranians flouted the Security Council deadline as expected.

"This is to gain more time and postpone the expected sanctions," one of the diplomats said.

Gary Samore, chief global security analyst at Chicago's MacArthur Foundation, said a no-nonsense ElBaradei report could buoy Western arguments for resorting to sanctions.

(China Daily 08/31/2006 page1)