United Nations ? Top diplomats from the world’s major powers will try to reach agreement today on new sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. If they do, the U.N. Security Council will start drafting a new resolution next week.

Foreign ministry political directors from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany had a two-hour conference call Thursday to discuss what to include in the resolution – and they were scheduled to have another conference call this morning.

The six countries indicate they want to move quickly to strengthen sanctions following last week’s report by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran was expanding enrichment instead of suspending it.

Iran’s refusal to freeze all its enrichment-related activities prompted the Security Council on Dec. 23 to impose sanctions targeting its nuclear and missile programs and the people, companies and organizations involved in them. The council gave Tehran 60 days to halt enrichment or face additional nonmilitary measures.

“This will be a substantive resolution. This will be something that will : increase diplomatic pressure on Iran, on the Iranian regime,” U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Friday.

“They have gotten agreement on the major elements,” he said. “We do expect that the remaining issues in terms of the main components of the resolution will be resolved (today) and that the drafting can begin.”

South Africa’s U.N. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council president, said he was told to expect a resolution any time starting Monday. He said he also was told that the 10 nonpermanent council members would have input in the new resolution – unlike the Dec. 23 measure, which was drafted by the six nations and presented to the rest of the council to vote on.

A British Foreign Office spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy, refused Friday to discuss details of Thursday’s conversation by the political directors but acknowledged there still were differences between nations on how to proceed.

The U.S., Britain and France almost certainly would favor tough new sanctions, but they know they will have to settle for less to ensure that Russia and China, which have close ties to Iran, won’t use their veto power to block a new resolution.

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said recently that the new resolution would be looking at an “incremental” strengthening of sanctions – and the word “incremental” has been repeated by other council diplomats.

Some diplomats said the new measure might include travel bans, expand the list of technology and materials countries are banned from making available to Iran, and create stiffer economic sanctions.