UNITED NATIONS – In the Security Council deliberations on how to deal with Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions yesterday, Russia staked out positions that were at odds with Europe and America,

Contradicting its promise to maintain unity over how to deal with Iran in the 15-member body, Russia rejected short term deadlines by which the mullah regime would be obliged to comply with resolutions, as well as ruling out future sanctions against Tehran.

In Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency wound down its discussions on the issue, an Iranian diplomat hinted darkly at retaliation against America if sanctions are imposed on his country.

At a preliminary discussion among the five permanent members of the council yesterday, the two European representatives, France and Britain, presented elements of “how the Security Council ought to react to what has happened in Vienna and to developments on the ground in Iran,” according to Britain’s U.N. ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry.

Several diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to preserve unity on the council while negotiations take place, said the Europeans proposed that the council would demand “immediate compliance” from Iran to all IAEA resolutions, while asking the director of the agency, Mo hamed ElBaradei, to report within two weeks on Tehran’s obedience.

“Of course not,” said Russian ambassador Andrey Denisov when asked if his country would support a consensus statement asking Mr. El-Baradei to report within 14 days on Iran’s compliance. “It’s a short time,” he said, adding that adequate time for such a report might be a year and a half.

Europe and America are trying to create a slow but deliberate diplomatic momentum that would lead to punitive action against the Mullah regime if it did not comply with the council’s wishes. If Iran does not initially responds to the council’s demand, “then we believe that the world community should entertain the possibility of sanctions against Iran,” said Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns.

“It looks so deja vu,” retorted Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, after a meeting with Secretary General Annan yesterday. He was referring to the pre-Iraq war discussions at the council, in which he served as Moscow’s U.N. ambassador. Asked about the possibility of sanctions, he warned against “self fulfilled prophesy,” and added, “I don’t think sanctions as a means to solve a crisis have ever achieved a goal in the recent history.”

Mr. Lavrov said that the three European countries leading the diplomacy on Iran – France, Germany, and Britain – agree with Russia that “there is no military solution to this crisis.” But unlike the period leading to the 2003 Iraq war, Russia and China are currently alone in opposition to tough action on Iran.

“I don’t think there is any doubt how isolated internationally Iran is,” said American ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton.

Several European diplomats added that it was important that the council remain unified, a position shared by Mr. Lavrov. Mr. Bolton said that ever since his days as a diplomat in the first Bush administration, America had always sought unified positions by the five permanent members of the council.

The timing of Mr. Lavrov’s statement, therefore, seemed designed to stake out early on in the council’s deliberations Russia’s position on sanctions. Russia has a veto on council resolutions.

Iran, too, began hinting yesterday that punitive action might lead to retaliation that could, for example, result in a rise of oil prices. “The United States has the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain,” Iran’s delegate to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said in Vienna. “So if the U.S. wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll.”

However, Iran’s petroleum minister, Sayed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, quickly lowered the rhetoric, saying, “Iran has no intention whatsoever of reducing its oil exports.”

In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan reacted quickly to the Iranian threats. “I think that provocative statements and actions only further isolate Iran from the rest of the world,” he said.

Mr. Denisov said yesterday that the Iranian issue should mostly be discussed among members of the board of directors of the IAEA, allowing the Turtle Bay-based council, where sanctions could be imposed, only an observing role. “Substance should remain” in Vienna, he said. “They are the professionals, hired by us” to deal with atomic issues.

But Mr. Bolton strongly disagreed. “It’s here,” he said, stressing that the council, which is charged with keeping the peace and security around the world, should drive the international policy on Iran. “It should have been here three and a half years ago,” he said.