TEHRAN - Iran said on Sunday any U.N. action over its nuclear program would be illegal and lead to confrontation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also declared yet again there was nothing the international community could do to prompt Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, declaring that "intervention by the Security Council in this issue is completely illegal."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (front row C) sits with commanders from the Basij Militia in Tehran May 7, 2006. Iran said on Sunday any measures taken against its nuclear programme by the U.N. Security Council would push Tehran towards confrontation with the West rather than cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Iran has been referred to the world body after failing to convince the international community that its nuclear power programme is not a smokescreen for building weapons. [Reuters]

Briefing reporters, also said Iran's antagonists over its nuclear program were driven by "political motivations."

"Countries sponsoring the draft resolution (Britain, France and the United States) have political motivations," Asefi said. "It's clear that any action by the U.N. Security Council will leave a negative impact on our cooperation with the IAEA."

He was referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, which Iran has barred from making snap inspections as the dispute over the program has escalated.

"Intervention by the U.N. Security Council would change the path of cooperation to confrontation. We recommend they do not do this," Asefi said.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, was quoted by state radio as reissuing his charge the Iran's opponents were bullying the international community and Iran.

"International organizations should not turn into interpreters of few bullying powers... . If that's the case, then there was no need for world nations to pay costs for keeping these organizations and few interpreters would suffice to inform others of these bullying behavior. These organizations must defend countries seeking peaceful nuclear technology and disarm countries possessing weapons of mass destruction," he said.

The U.S., Britain and France have expressed concern Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons under cover of its enrichment program and are trying to craft a U.N. resolution that would involve some measure of punishment should Iran fail to cease processing uranium. Russia and China, the other two veto-holding council members, have refused to agree to a draft resolution, calling for further diplomacy.

Iran insists the program is designed only to make fuel for reactors to generate electricity, and the IAEA says there is no evidence Iran has a nuclear weapons program.

"The U.N. Security Council should not take any action that it cannot later undo. We won't give up our rights and the issue of suspension (of enrichment) is not on our agenda," Asefi said at his weekly briefing.

At the U.N., Britain, France and the United States were trying to bridge differences with Russia and China on resolution that could eventually lead to sanctions against Tehran. The U.S. said it wants a vote in the coming week, with or without support from Moscow and Beijing.

After an informal two-hour meeting Saturday at Britain's U.N. Mission, council members said they made some progress in a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the draft resolution. But Britain's U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said the most contentious issues were not discussed in detail, which leaves a major question mark over prospects for the resolution's speedy adoption.

"We are still working to achieve unanimity ... but we're prepared to go to a vote without it," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said. "We're not prepared to extend these negotiations endlessly ... I think it's realistic to consider this for a vote next week."

The resolution, co-sponsored by Britain and France and backed by the U.S., would make mandatory the previous Security Council demands that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, plutonium reprocessing, and construction of a heavy-water nuclear reactor.

The draft states that the "proliferation risk" posed by Iran constitutes a threat to international peace and security, and the resolution would be adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which can be enforced by sanctions - or if necessary - military action.

Russia and China, both permanent council members with veto power, and some nonpermanent members object to putting the resolution under Chapter 7. They contend that there is no evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons - as the U.S. and its allies believe - and they object to the call for possible "further measures" to ensure Tehran's compliance.

Iran has said it wants the issue turned back over to the IAEA for further negotiations. But the agency has referred the Iranian program to the council, making it unlikely in the short term that some sort of action in the Security Council will move forward.

Iran says it has the right to enrich uranium under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, monitored by the IAEA. Iran's council opponents on the issue say that right was given up when the IAEA determined in 2002 that Iran had conducted secret nuclear research and development for decades.