Russia and China have told Tehran they will not support UN sanctions or military action over its nuclear programme, the Iranian foreign minister says. UN ambassadors from the United States, Britain and France are expected to introduce a resolution this week to legally oblige Iran to comply with UN Security Council demands that it halt all uranium enrichment work. But Manouchehr Mottaki told the Kayhan newspaper on Tuesday: "The thing these two countries [China and Russia] have officially told us and expressed in diplomatic negotiations is their opposition to sanctions and military attacks. At the current juncture, I personally believe no sanctions or anything like that will be on the agenda of the Security Council," he said.Western diplomats say China and Russia - both veto-wielding permanent members of the council, will probably back a UN resolution demanding a halt to Iran's nuclear fuel work, but are not yet ready to back sanctions. Iran has been referred to the UN Security Council after failing to convince the International Atomic Energy Agency that its nuclear power station programme is not a front for building an atom bomb.