The UN Security Council will need until mid-September before acting on its threat to punish Iran if Tehran's leaders flout a Thursday deadline to suspend uranium enrichment as is widely expected, Britain's UN ambassador said Tuesday.
Ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry's prediction seemed to rule out the immediate threat of sanctions against Iran if it disregards the council demands - spelled out in a resolution adopted earlier this month - to suspend enrichment by Thursday.
Iran has already said it would reject the deadline.
Jones-Parry said that before it can act, the Security Council will need to receive a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's compliance with the resolution.
