A UN Security Council committee is split over whether Iran's missile tests last year violated UN sanctions imposed on Tehran because of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Australia's UN envoy said on Monday, July 15, according to Reuters.

That division effectively rules out any expansion of sanctions against Tehran over the tests for the time being, UN envoys said on condition of anonymity.

Diplomats said it was Russia, backed by China, that refused to declare Tehran's missile launches a violation of the UN restrictions, as a UN Panel of Experts on Iran said was the case.

The rift on the Iran sanctions committee, which consists of all 15 Security Council members, highlights the difficulties Western powers face in persuading Russia and China to join them in keeping up the pressure on Tehran to halt banned nuclear and missile work.

Iran rejects allegations by the United States, European powers and their allies that it is developing an atomic weapons capability. It says the UN sanctions against it are illegal and refuses to comply with them.

As long as the sanctions committee remains divided, it will be difficult for the Security Council to add names of any Iranian individuals or entities linked to the missile tests, Security Council diplomats said on condition of anonymity.