New York  - The world's major powers agreed on and submitted a new Security Council resolution Friday calling on Iran to halt its nuclear activities, but did not seek additional sanctions against the Tehran regime.

The council's five permanent members - the US, China, Russia, France and Britain - plus Germany touted the new resolution as a show of unity after the UN-backed International Atomic Energy Agency last week said Iran was still expanding its uranium enrichment programme.

The three-paragraph text calls on Iran to "fully comply, without delay, with its obligations" under past Security Council resolutions. Three rounds of UN sanctions have already been slapped on Iran in the past.

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that a new set of sanctions was "not timely," despite US, French and British calls last week for more punishment.

The resolution was submitted in a special Security Council meeting in New York. A vote is unlikely before Wednesday, according to Western diplomatic sources. (dpa)