"I do not believe sanctions are the solution to everything. There are times when a little patience is more effective. I think that is a quality we should exercise more often," Annan said in an interview with Le Monde in its Sunday and Monday edition.

Annan called on Iran to prove its pacific purpose in the use of nuclear energy by giving the UN inspectors the access to all its facilities.

"Such a move could allow us to move forward," said Annan, who arrived in Tehran on Saturday for talks with Iran's leaders on the issue.

Just before the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the US) plus Germany were to meet next week to discuss Iran's nuclear issue and the United States was pleading for a rapid adoption of sanctions, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday vowed that Iran would firmly defend its nuclear objectives.