The assessment came after six major powers failed at a meeting in Paris Wednesday to reach agreement on what sanctions to impose on Iran for failing to suspend uranium enrichment, which can fuel a nuclear reactor or be used to make an atomic bomb.
"We hope that we can come to a consensus resolution but I think the feeling was it was now time to move on to New York (to the UN Security Council)," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
He did not give any specific timelines but a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "We are getting to the point where we will need to raise our hands one way or another."
Political directors from Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, the council’s permanent members, and Germany met in Paris late Wednesday to talk about what action to take against Iran, which defied a UN deadline of August 31 to cease enriching uranium.
They are agreed that there will be sanctions against Iran, though their extent is yet to be decided, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said after the talks.
Diplomats said the meeting failed to reach agreement among the six countries on what sanctions should be applied.
Russia and China — which have strong economic interests in Iran — have tried to water down a draft Security Council resolution drawn up by France, Britain and Germany, while the United States has sought to harden it.
The European draft would bar trade with Iran in goods related to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and impose financial and travel restrictions on persons and agencies involved.
Several of the countries, especially the United States, fear that despite Iran’s insistence that it is pursuing civilian nuclear energy ambitions, the program is in fact designed to build a nuclear arsenal.
McCormack said that any Security Council resolution tabled "is going to be a strong one and we expect that we will get a resolution."
According to diplomats in Paris, Russia is willing to back the trade ban against Iran, but remains opposed to sanctions being applied to individuals, though it will accept a ban on shipments of sensitive goods.
Tehran has warned it would regard any attempt to thwart its nuclear program as an "act of hostility".
Douste-Blazy said France was "in a hurry" to see sanctions imposed.
"I think this is about the credibility of the United Nations Security Council," he said.