Israel, which considers Iran's nuclear drive a major threat to its security, has not formally responded to the accord signed in Tehran on Monday to ship Iranian low enriched uranium to Turkey.

"The forum of seven (ministers) met this morning at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem," a senior official said.

"The ministers received a short update on the Iran-Turkey deal, which all agreed seems to be an Iranian trick," the official said without elaborating.

The meeting ended without an expected announcement.

Late on Monday, Netanyahu ordered his ministers not to discuss the deal until Israel issues a formal response, his office said.

Earlier, a senior Israeli official accused Iran of having "manipulated" Turkey and Brazil, which brokered the deal.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on Western powers not to weaken the deal with talk of new sanctions, which Israel has long demanded.

"An important psychological threshold has been crossed toward establishing mutual trust," Davutoglu told reporters in Istanbul.

"Sanctions, the discussions on sanctions will spoil the atmosphere and the escalation of statements may provoke Iranian public opinion," he added.

Meanwhile, Iran said on Tuesday it expects the US and its allies to accept the deal, as key UN Security Council member China welcomed the proposal as a way of reviving negotiations.

"If the Western countries continue seeking excuses, it will be clear that they are not after a solution to the issue and have no logical option on the table," said Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast.

He told a weekly press briefing that he was optimistic the deal would go forward after those nations had time for more careful consideration.

The White House showed deep skepticism about the new pact, noting that it allows Iran to keep enriching uranium, giving it a possible pathway to weapons.

"Given Iran's repeated failure to live up to its own commitments, and the need to address fundamental issues related to Iran's nuclear program, the United States and international community continue to have serious concerns," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on Monday.

Mehmanparast countered that the pact provided an opening "to move toward interaction instead of confrontation." He refused, however, to answer several questions Tuesday about whether Iran would continue to enrich uranium on its own to the higher levels of 20 percent needed for the Tehran reactor, which produces isotopes used in cancer treatment.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu, whose nation has been reluctant in the past to impose harsher penalties, sounded positive about the new Iranian proposal. "We welcome the agreement. ... We hope this will help promote the peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue through negotiations," he said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, said on Tuesday the United States had agreed with China, Russia and other major powers on a proposal for "strong" new sanctions against Iran's nuclear program.

Clinton told a Senate committee that the five permanent members of the Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - along with Germany would send a new draft sanctions resolution to the entire council later Tuesday, capping months of painstaking negotiations.

Clinton said she spent Tuesday morning on the phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "finalizing the resolution," which will be introduced in the United Nations later in the day. Details were not immediately released, but the sanctions are expected to broaden economic penalties on Iranian officials and institutions.