LONDON The governing board of the World Bank is considering a new program of loans to Iran after resuming lending last year for two outstanding projects, which had been delayed since 1994 due to U.S. opposition.

A majority of the 14 representatives from the bank's member countries backed a staff proposal on Thursday to prepare a full country assessment despite continued objections from the U.S. as well as Israel, IRNA quoted the ***** Financial Times ***** as reporting Friday.

The daily said that the program of lending to Iran on strictly humanitarian grounds, such as environmental protection, sewage and education, would involve loans of some $700 million over two years.

Last May, the U.S. was reported to have been left licking its wounds following Iran's landmark victory, when the world bank overwhelming voted in favor of granting two infrastructure loans, worth around $250m, which had been blocked by Washington for six years.

The ***** Financial Times ***** suggested that the U.S., which has a 17 percent voting share, and Israel, would need to find other objectors to prevent the new loans going ahead.

It also questioned Israel's complaint that Iran was an unsuitable recipient, saying that it could revive argument about the World Bank lending being affected by political considerations rather than on economic grounds.