On Iran, Germany and the permanent council members with veto power -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- appeared close to agreement on Tuesday on a draft resolution demanding Tehran suspend all nuclear enrichment and reprocessing work. The draft also said the council would consider sanctions if Iran did not comply.

France and other Western nations thought the council might vote by Friday. But the crisis in the Middle East appears to have delayed an informal agreement between the Western nations and Russia and China.