International pressure is growing for new sanctions against Iran following Tehran's decision to step up its enrichment of uranium.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday said they will push for strong new sanctions.
The U.N. Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, which they suspect is is being used for weapons purposes, although Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran said earlier on Monday it has announced the U.N. nuclear agency of its plan to enrich uranium to higher levels, defying calls by world powers for a halt to enrichment.
The U.N. had brokered a deal with a group of world powers calling for Tehran to ship its uranium abroad for enrichment and having it returned to Iran as reactor fuel. But Iran had given mixed signals about its willingness to accept the deal.
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