Russia regrets that Iran has been unwilling to compromise on its nuclear program and recognizes that sanctions are necessary in certain circumstances, a senior Foreign Ministry official said in an interview published on Wednesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that Washington and its allies would begin developing "significant" new sanctions against the Islamic Republic in response to its move to begin enriching uranium to 20%.

He also praised Russia's "forward-leaning" statements on the issue. Russia, a traditional Iranian ally that is building the country's first nuclear plant, has moved closer in recent months to the position of Western nations, who fear that Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Iran says its program is aimed exclusively at the generation of peaceful civilian power.

"The situation is extremely worrying," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Kommersant. "It is disappointing and regrettable that Iran has not taken advantage of the many flexible and creative proposals that we have put forward together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.S. and France."

"While we do not believe in the efficiency of sanctions, we understand that in certain circumstances it is impossible to get by without them," he added, stressing however that Russia was still in favor of a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Rybakov's comments came a day after Russia's security chief Nikolai Patrushev said Iran's actions meant that fears by Western powers over the nature of its nuclear program were "reasonable."

MOSCOW, February 10 (RIA Novosti)