The United States called yesterday for an arms embargo on Iran for its defiance on its nuclear programs.

"There are a lot of countries that allow the export of dual-use technologies, and the position of the United States is that should be prohibited. All countries should refrain from military sales and arm sales," Undersecretary of State for political affairs Nicholas Burns said at a briefing.

As to Russia's plan to sell Iran 29 TOR M1 mobile surface-to-air missile defense systems, Burns said: "We hope and we trust that that deal will not go forward because this is not time for business as usual with the Iranian government."

Burns indicated that even if the United Nations Security Council might not succeed in imposing sanctions on Iran, the United States will still make efforts to penalize Iran for its defiant actions.

"It's also important for countries to know that, if for any reason the Security Council can't succeed, there will be an effort made, and there are avenues available to us to apply the kind of pressure that we need to apply," he said.

The United States has hoped that the United Nations Security Council could impose sanctions on Iran for its nuclear programs. However, Russia has been reluctant to do so.