The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has said he wants to go before the UN Security Council to defend and explain his country's civilian nuclear programme.
Iran has defied UN demands to halt uranium enrichment.
Western nations claim the programme is part of a plan to develop nuclear weapons, and are currently in talks over a resolution to tighten existing sanctions as Tehran continues to defy the ban.
Responding to the new development, the current President of the Security Council, South Africa's Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, said it would be hard to reject any application by Mr Ahmadinejad.
The Security Council imposed a package of limited sanctions in December, including a ban on the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology.
It threatened further steps if Iran failed to meet its 21 February deadline to suspend enrichment.
