Jerusalem, Nov. 20 (ANI): In the wake of Iran refusing to export 70 percent of its low-enriched uranium for further processing, Israel has urged the international community to impose sanctions aimed at denying Teheran any nuclear fuel cycle capabilities.

Iran's refusal has already prompted US President Barack Obama to declare that the US was now moving to negotiate new sanctions with its allies.

Obama said that he expected that over the next several weeks we will be developing a package of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran.

Meanwhile, Israel is arguing that Teheran's refusal to allow the export of most of its supply of low-enriched uranium demonstrates that it wants to preserve that stockpile for non-peaceful purposes, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Behind the scene, Israel is urging the international community that Iran should be penalized by the UN Security Council.

It should be prevented from putting the Qom facility to any enrichment use, even within permitted limits.

Moreover, Israel says, the international community should insist on the cessation of all enrichment and all plutonium production, and should peg all sanctions to the original Security Council insistence that Iran not have any nuclear fuel cycle capabilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterated that Iran must be prevented from developing a nuclear military capability.

Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens our security, the chances for peace in the Middle East and global security, he recently said.

The international community must stand firmly behind its demands that Iran stop its nuclear weapons program, and must be prepared to immediately apply strong sanctions if those demands are not met, preferably in the framework of the Security Council. If this is not possible, there is an alternative - strong sanctions may be applied by a broad coalition of important countries that understands the seriousness of the threat, he added. (ANI)