Obama says working on new sanctions against Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday a new push toward international sanctions against Iran is moving along fairly quickly and should be completed in the next few weeks.

In an impromptu news conference, Obama provided his most extensive comments about Iran in weeks, saying that despite Tehran's denials it is clear to him that Iran is pursuing a path toward "nuclear weaponization."

He said the international community is looking at a significant regime of sanctions that will provide a "variety of ways" to apply pressure to Iran's government, without detailing them.

Obama said the United States is confident the world is "unified around Iran's misbehavior in this area."

Of two allies who have been reluctant to approve new U.N. sanctions in the past, Russia and China, Obama said he was pleased by how Russia has been "forward-leaning" lately but was uncertain about China.

"How China operates at the Security Council as we pursue sanctions is something we're going to have to see," he said.

Obama said it was unclear who actually speaks for the Iranian government, saying it was giving "mixed signals."

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Caren Bohan, editing by Anthony Boadle and Bill Trott)