The US Senate may take up legislation to slap sanctions on Iran "in the next few weeks" to pile pressure on Tehran over its suspect nuclear program, the chamber's top Democrat said Tuesday.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he and his Republican counterpart, Senator Mitch McConnell, were "committed to finding a time to do this" and that lawmakers could act "in the next few weeks."

Reid said the measure, which would impose new unilateral US sanctions aimed at choking off Iran's imports of gasoline, will create new pressure on the Iranian regime and help stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."

Iran has rejected global calls to limit its nuclear program, notably by freezing uranium enrichment, and denies Western charges that what it calls a civilian energy drive masks a push to acquire nuclear weapons.

While Iran is a major producer of crude oil, it lacks the capacity to refine the product, forcing it to import 40 percent of its gasoline.

If the Senate approves the measure, it would need to craft a compromise version with the House of Representatives, which approved its own version on December 15.

The legislation, which includes sanctions that can be slapped on foreign companies with more than 20 million dollars of investments in Iran's energy sector, was approved by the Banking Committee at end of October.

Iran's top suppliers of refined petroleum are Swiss companies Vitol and Glencore, Dutch-Swiss Trafigura, France's Total, Britain's British Petroleum, and Indian company Reliance.

Khamenei says Iran will not be 'blackmailed'
Tehran (AFP) Jan 26, 2010 - Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that Iran will not succumb to "blackmail" by world powers, just days ahead of a deadline given by Tehran over a nuclear fuel deal.

Khamenei, the all-powerful leader of the Islamic republic and commander-in-chief, also insisted that Iranians will continue to stand for their rights.

"We will not be blackmailed," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast by state television.

"Our people are standing firm for their rights and will not back down," he said as crowds of supporters, raising their hands, shouted "Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to Britain."

Khamenei's remarks come days before an end January deadline given by Tehran to world powers to accept its counter-proposal to a UN-brokered nuclear fuel deal.

World powers have backed the UN-brokered deal which envisages Tehran shipping the bulk of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for higher processing before being returned as fuel for a Tehran research reactor.

Iranian officials have rejected this plan and offered a counter-proposal which talks of a phased exchange of uranium stocks.

World powers want to take out Tehran's low-enriched uranium as they fear the Islamic republic could process it to higher purity levels on its own and use it to make atomic weapons.

Tehran denies its uranium enrichment programme has military aims.

Enriched uranium lies at the heart of the Iranian nuclear controversy as the material can be used to power nuclear reactors or in higher grades to make the fissile core of an atom bomb.

Khamenei's remarks came as China on Tuesday said there was still time to reach a diplomatic resolution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme.

"Negotiations and dialogue are the best way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.

"At present, relevant parties are still engaged in diplomatic efforts and there is still room for diplomatic efforts."

China, a close ally of Iran and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has always favoured diplomacy over sanctions.

"The current priority is that all parties concerned should proceed from the larger interest, step up diplomatic efforts, and adopt more flexibility and pragmatism to push forward the negotiations," Ma said.

On Monday France, one of the six world powers with China, Britain, Russia, the United States and Germany engaged in talks on Iran, urged its European partners to ready new sanctions against Tehran.

France's European Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche urged European Union nations to prepare new sanctions against Tehran, saying they were needed because of "Iran's refusal of all offers of a solution" made by the West.

Meanwhile Iran's chief chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili's visit to Russia which was to start on Tuesday has been postponed, ISNA news agency reported, saying the three-day trip has been delayed so that it can be better coordinated.

Jalili was to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during the visit, ISNA had reported on Sunday.

Moscow has long been a nuclear partner of Tehran and built Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern port city of Bushehr, which is not yet operational.

In recent months Medvedev has indicated that Moscow could back fresh sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear enrichment programme and last week Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Moscow does "regret" Iran's refusal to accept the UN-brokered fuel plan.