Bernard Kouchner said sanctions would be aimed not just at restricting Iran's nuclear programme, but also at supporting opponents of the Tehran regime, who wanted freedom of expression and fair elections.

"Economic sanctions on bank accounts, insurance, we are working on them. But we must not have them vetoed by a permanent Security Council member. We must have a majority, and we are working on that," Kouchner said at a short debate following a conference in Geneva.

"I think we will achieve this in the reasonably near future," said Kouchner, whose country is one of the Security Council's five permanent members, along with the United States, China, Russia and Britain.

Western governments, particularly France and the United States, are seeking further sanctions on Tehran in the hope of stopping the Islamic republic's nuclear drive, which they suspect may be aimed at acquiring atomic weapons.

Of the five permanent Security Council members, currently only China opposes new measures against Iran.

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