Britain welcomed the resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report the Iran nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, British Foreign Jack Straw said on Saturday.

"This is a significant improvement in the international consensus since the last resolution in September 2005, not withstanding the tougher nature of this resolution and changed composition of the board," Straw said in a statement.

The 35-member board of IAEA governors had voted earlier on Saturday to report the Iran nuclear issue to the Security Council with three votes against and five abstentions.

"The scale of the vote in this resolution's favor is significant," said Straw, adding that "it signals the international community's determination to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East."

Straw said that Iran's failure to comply with IAEA Board resolutions, and its decision not to negotiate with the European side in good faith, prompted the Board's decision to involve the Security Council to reinforce the IAEA's authority.

"However, Iran still has a crucial opportunity between now and the March IAEA Board to comply with this latest resolution by resuming full suspension of its enrichment related and reprocessing activities and taking the steps required to address all outstanding questions from the IAEA. Otherwise, decisions by the Security Council are almost inevitable," Straw said.

Also on Saturday, a senior Iranian official said that Iran will no longer consider a proposal by Russia designed to solve the nuclear standoff since the UN nuclear agency decided to report Iran to the UN Security Council.

Speaking to the state television from Vienna, Austria, via phone, Javad Vaeedi, deputy head of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said that under current circumstances, there was "no adequate reason" for Iran to consider a Russian proposal to transfer sensitive nuclear enrichment to the Russian soil.

"We have no reason to seek the Russian proposal," Vaeedi stressed.

Vaeedi also said that Iran would resume industrial-scale uranium enrichment at the facilities in the central town of Natanze in accordance with a law ratified late last year by the Iranian Majlis (Parliament).

Source: Xinhua