Obama hails Iran sanctions draft

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday hailed a UN draft plan to impose tougher sanctions on Iran and again called on the country to live up to its international obligations.

A draft UN plan circulated on Tuesday proposed a modest expansion of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

The 10-page draft - agreed by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia after months of negotiations - targets Iranian banks and calls for inspections of vessels suspected of carrying cargo related to Iran's nuclear or missile programs.

At least three of the 10 non-permanent Security Council members — Brazil, Turkey and Lebanon — have expressed opposition to new sanctions. Brazil and Turkey have approached the 15 Security Council members demanding they not endorse the new sanctions.

A statement issued by the two countries' foreign ministers noted that the time has come to give negotiations a real chance and prevent harmful actions which could risk peace, such as the new initiative.

US Ambassador Susan Rice said that the new proposal includes tough and wide-reaching sanctions which would be binding.

"These sanctions would also have an immediate chilling effect on Iran's ability to move forward with its nuclear and ballistic missile program as well as its ability to threaten its neighbor," she said.

In an interview with MSNBC Rice noted that the great effort Iran puts in trying to hinder the move shows how threatened it is by it.

Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to this report