China "under pressure" on Iran sanctions: Clinton

PARIS (Reuters) - The United States is trying to persuade Beijing that it's time to get tough with Iran on its nuclear program, even though Tehran is a major oil supplier to China, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.

China was "under pressure" to agree to new sanctions on Iran, Clinton told an audience in Paris, saying that efforts to negotiate with Tehran were clearly failing.

In unusually blunt comments addressed to China, Clinton said all members of the U.N. Security Council needed to move ahead with sanctions on Iran over the nuclear dispute.

"The argument we and others are making to China is: we understand that right now it seems counterproductive to you to sanction a country from which you get so much of the natural resources your growing economy needs," she said.

"But think about the longer term implications," added Clinton, who personally lobbied Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Thursday while they were both in London.

Western governments fear that Iran wants to produce nuclear weapons but Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes.

The five permanent Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- along with Germany have been negotiating with Iran, but U.S. officials say drafts of possible sanctions should circulate among the group soon.

Russia and China, which reluctantly supported three earlier rounds of sanctions, have appeared less eager to impose fresh curbs this time, complicating efforts to show a united front.

FRANCE SEES NO RUSSIAN PROBLEM

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said after meeting Clinton that Russia's position was not problematic.

"We are very pleased with the position taken by our Russian friends and we are still working with our Chinese friends," he told reporters, adding that he hoped to reach a deal over a fourth round of U.N. sanctions.

Clinton noted that China also got oil from elsewhere in the Gulf region.

"As we move away from the engagement track, which has not produced the results that some had hoped for, and move forward (on) the pressure and sanctions track, China will be under a lot of pressure to recognize the destabilizing impact that a nuclear-armed Iran would have in the Gulf," she said.

Clinton said among the dangers posed by Iran acquiring nuclear weapons would be a regional arms race and the possibility that Israel would feel a threat to its existence, which many fear could provoke a preemptive strike.

"All of that is incredibly dangerous," she said.

Clinton made her comments during a question-and-answer session after a speech in which she emphasized the need for international cooperation to improve security worldwide.

During her quick trip to Europe, Clinton has worked hard to raise support for tightening sanctions on Iran.

Following discussions in London with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, Clinton said she felt that the international community was moving toward a common understanding of what the next steps on Iran should be.

But China's Yang appeared less cooperative on Thursday, repeating Beijing's contention that Iran should be given more time to negotiate before any sanctions are considered.

(reporting by Andrew Quinn; editing by Tim Pearce)