Fresh UN sanctions on Iran by end of this month, says Joe Biden

The US has said that China has agreed to support fresh UN sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme and the fourth round of curbs on Tehran will be imposed by the end of this month.

"China would agree to sanctions. This is the first time that the entire world is unified. Iran is out of bounds. They are more isolated than they've ever been, with their own people and within the region," vice-president Joe Biden told the ABC News in an interview.

Among the five veto-wielding UN Security Council members, China, a close ally of Iran, has been the main holdout against fresh sanctions on Tehran, arguing instead for more time for diplomacy.

Early this week, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that Beijing still regards dialogue and talks as the best method in settling the Iranian nuclear issue.

"Everyone from the Israeli prime minister straight through to the British prime minister to the president of Russia, everyone agrees that the next step we should take is the UN sanctions route," Biden said.

"I believe you'll see a sanctions regime coming out by the end of this month, the beginning of next month," he said.

At the recently concluded Nuclear Security Summit, US president Barack Obama had said that he would like to see sanctions imposed against Iran in weeks.

Biden said the Barack Obama administration would be successful in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

"The president said our intention is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear capacity. We believe we'll be able to do that," he said.