WASHINGTON – China, long a holdout against new international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, signaled its willingness Wednesday to consider a U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution, two U.S. officials said.

That would appear to improve prospects for passing a resolution aimed at pressuring Iran to scale back its nuclear ambitions, which Tehran insists are limited to developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

President Barack Obama had said Tuesday he hoped to have Iran sanctions in place within weeks — a timetable that appeared highly ambitious given China’s reluctance to even discuss specific sanctions.

On Wednesday, however, two U.S. officials said that in a phone call among officials from the five permanent members of the Security Council — plus Germany — the Chinese representative said his country was prepared to discuss specific potential sanctions.

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