MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Russia will join any consensus on  more sanctions against Iran, a senior Russian diplomatic source  said yesterday after Tehran declared it would expand nuclear  activity in defiance of a U.N. rebuke.

It was a thinly veiled Russian warning to Iran of waning  patience with its failure to allay fears it aims to develop atom  bombs in secret, and hinted that Iran could no longer rely on  Russia to stop tougher world action against it.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad voiced defiance yesterday, saying sanctions would have no effect and that no more  talks on the nuclear dispute were needed with the West. Speaking  on state television, he also criticised Russian action.

Governors of the U.N. nuclear agency passed a resolution on  Friday censuring Iran for covertly constructing a second  enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom, in addition to its  IAEA-monitored one at Natanz, and demanding a construction halt.

Tehran said on Sunday it would build 10 more uranium  enrichment sites — a pledge that Ahmadinejad said yesterday  was “not a bluff”. Iran’s announcement had been in retaliation for the 25-3  vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board  of Governors, which sailed through with unusual Russian and  Chinese support.

“If there is a consensus on Iran sanctions, we will not  stand aside,” said the Russian diplomatic source, who requested  anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

By referring to “consensus”, Russia could be leaving itself  an escape hatch since China has been the most resistant to  punitive steps against Iran among the six world powers.

The source made clear Moscow would not move so fast to  embrace harsher sanctions as the United States and EU powers,  who want to act early next year if Tehran has not begun  fulfilling IAEA demands for nuclear restraint and transparency  by then.

“We will be thinking about sanctions but this is not an  issue of the next few hours or weeks,” he said.

Russia did not want to complicate the situation with threats  against Iran.

“We would rather have Iran cooperating more openly and  consistently with the IAEA and showing clear steps to lift  concerns — which are gaining greater foundation — than  introducing sanctions against Iran,” the source said.

In his televised comments, Ahmadinejad dismissed the threat  of sanctions and warned any “aggressor” against Iran.

“Sanctions will have no effect. Aggressors will regret their  action as soon as they put their finger on the trigger,” he  said.

Israel has hinted at the possibility of attacking Iranian  facilities if it deems diplomacy at a dead end.