Russia backs sanctions against Iran

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has signalled that Moscow could support fresh sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear plans.

Speaking in New York, Mr Medvedev today said that in some cases sanctions were "inevitable". He is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Earlier, a Russian official said Moscow could soften its opposition to sanctions if there was enough evidence from UN inspectors that Iran was developing a nuclear weapons programme. Tehran has denied having any such plans.

Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not directly refer to the issue in his address to the Assembly. But he spoke of countries which undermined the development of nations under the pretext of stopping arms proliferation.