United Nations ? U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday a negotiated settlement with Iran about its nuclear program should be sought, and he warned that military intervention would be “unwise and disastrous.”

Annan, who steps down as U.N. chief Dec. 31, issued the warning as the Security Council debated a resolution that would impose sanctions on Tehran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. The United States is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf as a show of force against Iran.

He addressed concerns about Iran at a farewell news conference in response to a question about how the Security Council should deal with crises after the Iraq war. The council refused to authorize a war against Saddam Hussein in 2003 and Annan called the U.N.’s failure to stop the conflict “the worst moment” of his 10 years as secretary-general.