Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to back "sanctions with teeth" targeting Iran's energy sector, said an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Netanyahu met Medvedev in the Kremlin on Monday.
 

Iran's announcement that it has begun making higher-grade nuclear fuel has heightened Western suspicions it is seeking atomic weapons. Tehran denies it is trying to make a nuclear bomb.
 

But Israel, seeing a mortal threat, has hinted it could attack Iran's nuclear facilities pre-emptively if it deems international diplomacy a dead end.
 

Russia - which wields a veto in the United Nations Security Council - has been deeply disappointed by Tehran's refusal to send uranium abroad for enrichment in Russia, a deal Moscow hoped could allay Western fears.
 

Russian officials have in recent days indicated that Moscow could support a tougher stance on Iran, though neither Medvedev nor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have publicly commented on the situation for weeks.
 

Source: Reuters