The UN Security Council is set to impose a new round of sanctions on a defiant Iran on Wednesday over a nuclear program that Western powers suspect is aimed at developing atomic weapons.   

The 15-nation council meets at 10:00 am EDT (1400 GMT) to vote on a draft resolution that was the product of five months of talks between the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.   

The four Western powers had wanted much tougher measures -- some targeting Iran's energy sector -- but Beijing and Moscow worked hard to dilute the proposed steps.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told reporters on Tuesday that the 10-page draft was "a strong, broad based resolution that will impose meaningful and significant new sanctions on Iran."    

The draft resolution calls for measures against new Iranian banks abroad if a connection to the nuclear or missile programs is suspected, as well as vigilance over transactions with any Iranian bank, including the central bank.

It also would expand a UN arms embargo against Tehran and blacklist three entities controlled by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and 15 belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The resolution would also set up a cargo inspection regime similar to one in place for North Korea.   

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday that individual states will likely move quickly to pass their own measures that go beyond the UN sanctions.   

In addition to the draft resolution is a list of 40 companies to be added to an existing UN blacklist of firms whose assets around the world are to be frozen on suspicion of aiding Iran's nuclear or missile programs.

The new blacklist, obtained by Reuters, also includes an individual, Javad Rahiqi, head of an Iranian nuclear center where uranium is processed. His assets will also be frozen and he will face an international travel ban.

The focus of heated last-minute negotiations, the new blacklist on Tuesday morning contained 41 firms, including two banks. By the end of the day China had demanded the deletion of one bank, the Export Development Bank of Iran.

Council diplomats predicted the resolution would pass, though it would likely get only 12 yes votes. Lebanon, they said, would probably abstain, while Turkey and Brazil were seen either abstaining or voting against the resolution.

All five powers with a veto -- the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- are expected to vote in favour.

The first two Iran sanctions resolutions adopted in 2006 and 2007 passed unanimously. The council approved a third set of sanctions in 2008 with 14 yes votes and one abstention.   

Three rounds of punitive measures aimed at Iran's nuclear and missile industries have hit its economy hard but failed to persuade Tehran's leadership to halt its nuclear program or come to the negotiating table, analysts say.

Instead, Iran continues to enrich uranium at increasingly higher levels, despite occasional hints of possible military action against its nuclear sites by Israel or Washington.

Iran's UN Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee, in remarks that were distributed by the Iranian mission, said the push for sanctions showed that some countries "prefer confrontation." "In such a condition, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to react accordingly in the way it considers appropriate," Khazaee said without giving details. - Reuters