WASHINGTON US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Tuesday, said that Russia, China and other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have agreed to a US draft resolution on sanctions designed to pressure Iran over its nuclear programme. Third world diplomats regretted the draft, which, they said, is a sharp repudiation of the deal Iran had offered just a day before to ship its nuclear fuel out of the country. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing on the new US-Russia strategic arms reduction treaty, Mrs. Clinton said the US would circulate the draft resolution to all members of the 15-nation council. The measure would bolster an arms embargo, enhance authority to seize Iranian cargo suspected of ties to nuclear or missile programs, restrict financial transactions and impose travel bans and asset freezes on Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps, diplomats at the UN in New York said. Mrs Clintons announcement in Washington came just a day after Iran said it agreed to a nuclear swap that made sanctions unnecessary. Turkey and Brazil, the nations that brokered the deal, immediately rebuked Clinton, saying sanctions are ineffective and a vote on them would be dangerous. She said the draft would send an unmistakable message about what is expected from Iran. Iran said Monday it agreed to hand over to Turkey about half its enriched uranium stockpile in exchange for 20 percent- enriched nuclear fuel to run a reactor for medical isotopes. The swap would be supervised by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. As the deal was announced, Iran said it would continue to pursue its enrichment programme, which the U.S. has said is aimed at creating a nuclear arms capability. With the cooperation of Russia and China, the US created a strong draft of a new sanctions resolution, she told senators when asked to react to Brazil and Turkeys deal. Brazil and Turkey hold rotating seats on the 15-nation Security Council. Marco Aurelio Garcia, special adviser on foreign affairs to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, responded within minutes at a news conference in Madrid, according to reports. Sanctions are totally ineffective, and Mrs. Clintons statement about the draft accord was her problem, he said. The chief of the Turkish parliaments foreign relations committee, Murat Mercan, said on television that his country expected that Security Council members would not vote on the sanctions draft. A vote would create tensions and be dangerous, Mercan said. The permanent members of the Security Council China, France, the UK, the US, and Russia along with Germany make up the P5 plus one group that has been working on sanctions. A Chinese diplomat at the UN, who asked not to be identified, said the aim of the draft resolution is to push Iran into talks on its nuclear programme. Mrs. Clinton said she spent the morning talking to her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the final elements of the sanctions resolution. Adversaries are not happy that Russia and China have signed on with the US and its allies, Mrs Clinton said. This is a real setback for them, Clinton told the committee. Separately, a senior U.S. lawmaker said the U.S. House of Representatives should act on an Iran sanctions resolution this month. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said today that the accord brokered with Iran by Turkey and Brazil still leaves Iran free to pursue its nuclear armed intentions, and we think thats unacceptable. Meanwhile, Irans agreement to send enriched uranium to Turkey is a positive step but falls short of meeting international demands to halt its uranium programme, the White House said Monday. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the plan mediated by Brazil and Turkey must be clearly explained to the UN nuclear watchdog and expressed scepticism about Irans past record of living up to its obligations. He did not rule out moving forward with UN Security Council sanctions. Given Irans repeated failure to live up to its own commitments, and the need to address fundamental issues related to Irans nuclear programme, the United States and international community continue to have serious concerns, Gibbs said in a statement. The United States has been working with the P-5+1 group of nations - including Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - on a sanctions resolution. Asked about President Barack Obamas time line for progress with Iran on the nuclear issue, and the desire he has voiced to achieve a Security Council resolution within the next few months, Gibbs said that the United States and its partners are making steady progress on a sanctions resolution. US officials are emphasising that the nuclear swap agreement will need to be examined by the international community, specifically the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said, It remains to see, and this is what we will be working through in coming days, what does this actually represent. There are those who might characterize this as a breakthrough. I think we remain sceptical that this represents anything fundamentally new. As for consultations on the nuclear fuel exchange, White House spokesman Gibbs said President Obama has not had any new discussions with his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev or with the leaders of Turkey and Brazil. State Department spokesman Crowley told reporters said the United States would be talking with Turkey and Brazil in the coming days. According to the IAEA, the amount of enriched uranium Iran would send to Turkey under the agreement would be a little more than half of Irans existing stockpile. The United States and its key allies say Irans nuclear programme is aimed at developing atomic weapons to the region. Irans government maintains that its uranium enrichment programme is for peaceful purposes only.