Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki addressed the protest in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Iranian media said the message was delivered by Iran's UN envoy Mohammad Khazaee, who said the Security Council's sanctions against Iran could not be justified as his country was continuing to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Security Council imposed sanctions in December 2006, March 2007 and March 2008, after Iran refused to comply with Western countries' demands to halt its uranium enrichment program over fears the country could develop nuclear arms. Iran has repeatedly claimed it is only pursuing a peaceful nuclear energy program.

The latest resolution against Iran froze accounts of certain Iranian companies and banks, and introduced inspections for goods leaving and entering the Islamic Republic. In addition, five Iranian officials involved in nuclear projects are subject to travel bans.

In response, Iran refused to continue talks with the Iran-Six, a group of international mediators comprising the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany, saying it would only discuss issues regarding its nuclear program with the IAEA.

The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the West began almost six years ago and has threatened to take on a military nature at times over suspicions that Iran was secretly developing nuclear weapons.

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