Iran says UN Security Council defeat unjust

Tehran: Iran says its failure to win a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council was an obvious injustice.

Japan defeated Iran in a secret ballot Friday to secure the Asian seat on the Council. Japan won 158 votes while Iran got 32 votes.

The Security Council is UN's powerhouse it can impose sanctions and dispatch peacekeepers. Ten of it 15 seats are filled by regional groups for two-year stretches while five seats are held by veto-wielding permanent members.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi told reporters in Tehran on Monday that there was no logical reason for Japan, which has served ten times on the Council, to monopolize that seat.

Iran is under UN sanctions for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program.