"We agreed on the content of the next Security Council resolution," Steinmeier said after the meeting in Berlin of foreign ministers from the five permanent members of the Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany.

Steinmeier said the resolution would be presented to the Security Council "in the coming weeks."

A senior US official said the new resolution "increases the severity of the sanctions already in place and will also introduce new elements."

He said the outcome of the meeting flew in the face of Iranian claims that the sanctions issue had driven a wedge through the so-called P5+1 group.

"The US is very pleased because this is our answer to the Iranians -- you are not out of the woods yet," the official said.

A German foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Berlin was "delighted" with the outcome of the talks.

The senior US official said the resolution foresaw extending the travel ban on Iranian officials along with the asset freeze on companies linked to the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.

The official said the ministers had ironed out their differences on four technical points during the two-hour meeting and continued their discussions over dinner.

He hailed the close cooperation between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the issue after several months in which relations between their two countries have been strained over US plans to build a US missile defence shield in eastern Europe.

"That mirrored the fashion of the last four to five days when the US and Russia worked very hard together to try to make progress," the official said.

The group had agreed not to distribute the text before presenting it to the other 10 members of the Security Council, the official said, saying "it has some new elements that will be unveiled in New York."

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the agreement showed Iran could not divide world powers.

"They're becoming increasingly isolated and I think this shows that they aren't able to divide us in our commitment to this effort," the spokesman said.

Britain, France and Germany have spearheaded efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the standoff with Iran.

Washington and its European Union allies have been pushing for a third set of economic and trade sanctions against Iran for defying international demands to stop uranium enrichment activities that they fear could be used to make a bomb.

China and Russia, which have lucrative trade ties with the Islamic republic, have been reluctant to back any more punitive measures.

The US administration's own intelligence on Iran has also made it difficult to convince Beijing and Moscow that Tehran deserves new sanctions.

A National Intelligence Estimate released in early December reported that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, a conclusion that undermined President George W. Bush's warnings about the Iranian threat.

Iran denies it is seeking an atomic weapon, insisting its nuclear programme is peaceful and aimed merely at providing energy for its growing population.

Tehran said Tuesday it would not be swayed if new UN sanctions were imposed.

"Adoption of a possible new resolution will not have any effect on our people," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters.

After the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency visited Tehran in mid-January, Iran agreed to clear up all outstanding issues about its atomic drive within four weeks.

Diplomats now indicate that the grace period could stretch to six weeks.

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