President George W. Bush and his allies on Wednesday appeared stalled in their efforts to start the diplomatic process of sanctioning Iran for pursuing what western governments suspect is a clandestine nuclear weapons programme.

China, Russia and India were among the major powers in the process of developing closer economic ties with Iran that were reluctant to take the country to the United Nations Security Council. The impasse over Iran reflected the broader failure among governments negotiating at the UN to agree on a text covering the whole issue of disarmament and nuclear proliferation – an omission Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, branded a “real disgrace”.