Russia says latest Iran resolution "not tough"

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A new draft resolution against Iran agreed by major powers is not tough or punitive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"The text in the form in which it was agreed and discussed yesterday in Berlin absolutely corresponds to our collective work on Iran," Lavrov told a news conference.

"It welcomes the progress made between Iran and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) ... The measures in this draft do not have a tough sanctioning character."

Washington has consistently pushed for a hard line on Iran's civilian nuclear programme because it believes Tehran's real aim is to build a nuclear bomb. Russia has disputed this analysis and, along with China, has resisted tough moves against Iran.

Lavrov said the new draft resolution would "call on countries to be alert in their transport relations with Iran so that those relations are not used to transport (potentially dangerous) materials".

His remarks suggested that the United States failed to win agreement in Berlin on punitive economic sanctions against Iran, including a ban on business with leading Iranian state banks.

Iran has already said that any new U.N. sanctions will not force it to halt its nuclear programme, which it says it is entitled to pursue just like any other country.

Lavrov said the new draft resolution on Iran would be sent to New York and introduced to the U.N. Security Council by its three co-authors. These are Germany, France and Britain.

(Reporting by Christian Lowe, writing by Michael Stott)