South Africa is likely to use its new seat in the United Nations Security Council to vote against the extra sanctions that Western nations are planning to impose soon on Iran because it had refused to give up its nuclear programme.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, met President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday to brief him on his negotiations with Western countries to try to resolve the dispute with them over Iran's programme to enrich uranium.

Iran insists it wants only to generate electricity through nuclear power, but Western powers and others suspect its real aim is to make atomic bombs.

Although a Foreign Ministry spokesperson insisted that Mbeki's meeting with Larijani was routine and the timing coincidental, a senior Western diplomat had predicted more than a week ago that Larijani would visit SA this week.

Among his aims would be to seek assurances that SA would not back the expected further sanctions against his country.

Sources said he had received such assurances from Mbeki on Sunday as SA has consistently opposed sanctions against Iran and has even opposed the Security Council taking up the issue at all.

SA, which sits on the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors, believes the IAEA is competent to deal with the issue by itself.

Official South African sources expect the Western nations to seek to include more Iranian officials in a travel ban, although the London Financial Times suggested that the sanctions would be tougher, including an arms embargo and a crackdown on export credits.

With acknowledgement to Peter Fabricius and The Star.