The three major European powers and the US say the time has come for Iran's nuclear activities to be dealt with by the United Nations (UN) Security Council. The calls follow a storm of international criticism after Iran broke the seals at three nuclear plants to resume uranium enrichment research. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has accused Iran of a "deliberate escalation" of the dispute, saying it is in "dangerous defiance of the entire international community". She says the Security Council should "call for the Iranian regime to step away from its nuclear weapons ambitions".After holding talks in Berlin, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany made a joint statement saying two-year negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program had reached a dead end. They described Iran as having a record of concealment and deception and said its government was not interested in better relations with the international community. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, "Iran has decided to turn its back and these negotiations have reached an impasse".
He says it is time for Europe to act. "I think we have no alternative but for the decision at which we have reached to call for an emergency meeting of the board of governors of the Atomic Energy Agency, with a view to the involvement then of the Security Council," he said. The ministers have called for an emergency session of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which can refer Iran to the Security Council where it could face trade sanctions.
But UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been speaking with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. He says he has been told Iran still wants what it calls "serious and constructive negotiations" on the nuclear issue but within a time frame. Mr Annan has asked the Iranians to come back to the negotiating table. "Basically, I called him to urge him to avoid any escalation, to exercise restraint, go back to give the negotiations a chance and that the only viable solution remains a negotiated one," he said.