The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, repeated Saturday his warning against introducing a resolution on the Iranian nuclear issue under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, saying that could be "dangerous."

Speaking to reporters after a speech at a symposium in the University of Chicago, Ambassador Wang recalled that the United States, Russia, China and the EU trio -- Britian, Germany and France -- agreed at a January ministerial meeting in London to report Iran's nuclear issue to the Security Council.

But the meeting also decided that the council's mandate is to reinforce the authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Wang, whose country holds the council presidency for April.

"If you adopt a resolution not to reinforce the IAEA's authority but to replace its authority, that is dangerous," he warned.

Wang reiterated that introducing a Chapter 7 resolution would complicate the situation. "The Iranians have already said that if this issue is being discussed under Chapter 7, they will withdraw from the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) ... Once they withdraw, they won't take any international legal obligations, so we don't want them to withdraw," he said.

Wang insisted that the IAEA should be allowed to continue playing a leading role in seeking a solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.

As shown by the IAEA's latest report, Wang said, "this is, in a sense, a technical issue and I don't think the Security Council as a political organization would be capable of doing this job."

In its report presented to the council on Friday, the IAEA concluded that Iran had not met the Security Council's demands, including freezing all enrichment activities.

Britain, France and the United States have said they would push the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution invoking Chapter 7, under which coercive measures, such as economic sanctions, could be used to force Iran to comply with the council demands.