The United States urged on Wednesday the United Nations Security Council to take action against Iran under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter.

"We think it's time for the Security Council to act and move forward on a resolution under Chapter 7 that would compel action by the regime," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at a briefing.

"The international community is concerned about their continued defiance, and the international community is united in our goal to prevent the regime from developing a nuclear weapons know-how or nuclear weapons," the spokesman said.

The United States, along with Britain and France, have been hoping for a United Nations resolution on Iran passed under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, which allows for sanctions or even military action against the country.

The Western powers have been mulling targeted sanctions on Iran but not the sweeping economic and military embargoes the United Nations Security Council imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Iran has remained defiant in the face of sanctions or possible military strikes.