Medvedev hopes 'irresponsible' Iran listening

Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev said today he hoped an "irresponsible" Iran would heed the world community after the UN Security Council permanent members agreed a draft sanctions resolution.

Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev said today he hoped an "irresponsible" Iran would heed the world community after the UN Security Council permanent members agreed a draft sanctions resolution.

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"The situation is this: an agreement on sanctions exists," the president said in Germany after talks with
Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We hope that the voice of the international community is heard by Iranian leadership.

"Such expressions of irresponsible behaviour cannot be continued. What is said internationally needs to be listened
to. Only this way can the most complex tasks be solved," he said.

The comments came after the five permanent Security Council members -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain
and France -- agreed on a new draft resolution that includes fresh sanctions against Iran over the Islamic republic's
sensitive nuclear work.

The White House said Thursday it was confident the council would back toughened sanctions on Iran in the next
week.

Both Russia and China have been more reticent than the others on sanctions, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said on Friday that "paralysing sanctions" had been purged from a new draft resolution to take into account
"the economic interests" of Moscow and Beijing.

Merkel, whose country is part of a six-nation group negotiating with Iran and who has been strident in her calls
for more sanctions, said the draft resolution represented "great progress on the diplomatic front."