All permanent members agree to refer Iran to UNSC

Permanent members of the UN Security Council agreed Tuesday that Iran should be hauled before that powerful body over its disputed nuclear program. China and Russia, longtime allies and trading partners of Iran, signed on to a statement that calls on the UN nuclear watchdog to transfer the Iran dossier to the Security Council, which could impose sanctions or take other harsh action. Foreign ministers from those nations, plus the United States, Britain and France, also said the Security Council should wait until March to take up the Iran case, after a formal report on Tehran's activities from the watchdog agency.