"The discussions are ongoing," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. "We need to let those discussions continue. But I think all nations understand the importance of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons."

Asked whether a divided council would weaken the U.S. hand, McClellan replied: "I think that's premature to get into that kind of discussion."

The five permanent members of the Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - met over Iran's nuclear issue on Tuesday with differences remaining.

The differences are mainly over a British-French draft demanding that Iran halt all uranium enrichment, which can be used to make nuclear arms. The draft also calls for a report within weeks on Iran's progress toward answering questions about its nuclear program.

China believes that there is still room for solving the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations.