UNITED NATIONS — The French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, yesterday called on the director of the U.N. watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, to “listen” to Western powers before presenting a much-awaited latest report on Iran. The diplomatic message from one of the toughest Security Council critics of Iran increased pressure on the chief nuclear inspector to toughen up his policies, which are now reportedly being criticized even inside his own agency.

The foreign ministers of the top Security Council powers recently circulated a proposed resolution that includes a new round of mild sanctions against Iran. The deliberation on the proposal in New York, however, was delayed to allow time for Mr. ElBaradei to present his next report to the board of directors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna at its next meeting, scheduled for the first week of March. Traditionally, the report is delivered to IAEA board members a week or two before they meet.