Iran warns UN: Don't play with lion's tail

TEHRAN (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday warned the UN Security Council against imposing new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear drive, telling the world body it risked playing with a "lion's tail".

"We advise them not to indulge in child's play. Our actions are legal and Iran is a great country," Ahmadinejad said at a news conference.

"They say that Iran is a lion sat down in a corner. And we tell them: Do not play with the lion's tail," he warned.

Iran has infuriated the West by refusing international demands to suspend uranium enrichment, a process Europe and the United States fear could be used to make nuclear weapons.

The United States and its Western allies now want the UN Security Council to impose a third set of sanctions against Tehran to punish its defiance to follow packages of measures imposed in December and March.