Iran's president told the UN Security Council on Tuesday not to continue along the path of imposing sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program, saying it was like "playing with a lion's tail".

The Security Council has slapped two rounds of sanctions on Iran since December for its failure to stop atomic work which the West believes is aimed at building a nuclear warhead. World powers have warned Iran could now face another resolution.

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"We believe that they (the Security Council) should avoid illegal measures and defend the rights of nations," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference with visiting foreign journalists.

"They observed that previous sanctions had no effect on Iran's nuclear activities and we have told them not to enter this path. They cannot harm our nation," he said.

"They should be aware that Iran is a big country. Some say Iran is like a lion sitting calmly in the corner. We advise them not to play with a lion's tail."

Iranian officials have regularly dismissed the impact of sanctions, which have included targeting a major Iranian state bank. Although sanctions are narrowly focused, economists say they are still deterring both foreign and local investors.

Iran insists its nuclear program has only peaceful goals with the objective of making fuel for a planned network of nuclear power plants. Iran, which sits on huge oil and gas reserves, has yet to complete its first atomic power plant.

Tehran has repeatedly refused to give up uranium enrichment, the part of the programme that most worries the West. The process can be used to make power plant fuel or, if enriched to high level, material for warheads.