A former chief UN weapons inspector says the UN Security Council would never approve an attack on Iran, amid US efforts to punish the country for its nuclear work.

Hans Blix made the remarks in an interview with Austrian daily Der Standard published on Wednesday, as the UN Security Council voted to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran.

“A military solution is unlikely. It is clear that the UN will not approve such an action,” he said. “Under the UN Charter, there are two possibilities for military action: self-defense against an armed attack or an invasion authorized by the UN Security Council.”

The former weapons inspector highlighted the fact it would be impossible for the US to evaluate the existence of low-enriched uranium — which Iran is producing domestically to make medical isotopes and to fuel its under-construction nuclear power plants — as an armed attack and compel the UN Security Council to authorize an offensive military strike against Tehran.

Asked on the likelihood of a US military unilateralism, Blix said the odds were very low as the US knew Iran was not unprepared and would dread a situation similar to the preemptive invasion of Iraq –the legality of which remains internationally contested.

“Even the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Admiral Michael Mullen, has spoken out against it. He said that one must consider the consequences. And he said the situation was a bit like that in Iraq: you know what to do when you go in, but little about how one makes advances.”

Noting West’s lack of proof to back allegations against Iran’s nuclear program, Blix stressed that the “hot” nuclear standoff could very well be resolved through diplomacy.

Iran — a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — argues that is has the legal right to a civilian nuclear program.

The US and Israel, meanwhile, have kept “all options” on the table to prevent Iran from developing its program.

Veto-wielding UNSC members Russia and China, which joined the sanctions campaign despite earlier opposition, say the issue should be resolved through diplomacy and have warned against any military strike against the second oil producer in the world.