Moscow, March 21 (RIA Novosti) Russia will not back excessive sanctions on Iran, suspected of secret plans to build nuclear weapons, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"We agreed earlier to influence Iran gradually, taking account of the present situation, and we will not back excessive sanctions," Lavrov said, referring to a new resolution on Iran being drafted at the UN Security Council over Tehran's defiance to stop the enrichment of uranium.

Lavrov also said Wednesday that Russia saw no connection between its completing the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran and work on a UN Security Council resolution on its nuclear program.

The UNSC will hold initial consultations Wednesday on a draft resolution to toughen sanctions on Iran for its refusal to end uranium enrichment activities and adhere to the previous resolution.

Last week, the five permanent members of the UNSC - France, Russia, UK, US and China - and Germany said they would impose a ban on Iranian arm exports and arm sales to Iran, restrict foreign trips for officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, an elite military unit commanded by the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

They also recommend countries and international financial organisations not to issue loans and grants to Iran, except for humanitarian purposes, and to freeze accounts of listed individuals and companies involved in nuclear and missile project program development. It believes that a vote on the Iran resolution could be taken later this week.

Simultaneously, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday Iran would not cede its right to develop peaceful nuclear technologies even under threat of new sanctions.