Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Iran is "moving closer" to having the potential to create nuclear weapons.

俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫称，伊朗距有能力制造核武器“更近了一步”。

It is one of the first times Moscow has publicly recognised that Iran might be moving towards a nuclear weapon.

Russia, which has strong economic and military ties with Iran, has traditionally been an ally（同盟国，伙伴） of Tehran.

But it has recently adopted a tougher stance（立场，姿态） towards Tehran's nuclear drive, and backed the fourth round of UN sanctions that was imposed last month.

"Iran is moving closer to possessing the potential which in principle（大体上，原则上） could be used for the creation of nuclear weapons," Mr Medvedev told a meeting of ambassadors in Moscow.

The US and major European Union powers suspect that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

On 10 June, the UN Security Council endorsed¹（支持，赞同） a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, including tighter financial curbs² and an expanded arms embargo³（武器禁运） .

Since then, the US and EU have unilaterally（单方面地） imposed additional sanctions, including a ban on investment in Iran's oil and gas industry, as well as trade with key banks and individuals.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the vote and rejected calls to halt uranium enrichment - which could have military as well as civilian⁴ uses.