BRUSSELS - The European Union renewed pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, confirming plans for talks with Tehran next week and warning it could yet haul the Islamic state before the UN Security Council.
The foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany, plus EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, will meet Iranian negotiators in Brussels next Tuesday, European diplomats confirmed Wednesday.
They declined to speculate if the talks can calm a simmering crisis sparked by recent warnings from senior Iranian officials that Tehran is preparing to resume key nuclear activities, in breach of a November agreement with the EU.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw underlined the high stakes involved in the talks.
"We have always made it clear that a reference to the Security Council remains an option if these negotiations fail and we believe that Iran is in breach of its obligations and undertakings," he told reporters in Washington.
In Brussels, a diplomat confirmed the Iran negotiations will be held next Tuesday morning, on the second day of regular EU monthly ministerial talks in Brussels.
"We do not know what the Iranians are going to say. We will have to wait and see," he said, asking not to be named. But he added: "We hope that we can find a way out of this situation."
The so-called EU-3 called a crisis meeting with Iran after Tehran announced it would resume uranium conversion work, a move that would violate the November accord on freezing nuclear fuel work and opening long-term talks.
Iran has agreed to hold off from resuming uranium conversion -- a precursor to the ultra-sensitive enrichment process -- pending the emergency talks.
But several top-level Iranian officials have said they held out little hope of reaching an agreement with the EU-3, saying the Europeans were hostage to the hardline US position.
But the United States expressed optimism that Iran would eventually back off its threats as it had chosen to continue talks.
The EU has offered Iran a package of incentives in return for "objective guarantees" it will not develop weapons -- hoping to strike a deal similar to that which the United States and Britain reached with Libya.
Such a deal would involve Iran dismantling its nuclear fuel facilities in exchange for increased trade and diplomatic and security benefits.
But Iran insists its bid to master the full nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment, is merely aimed at generating electricity and is a "right" for any country that has signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The EU-Iran negotiations are being watched closely by the United States, which believes Iran is merely using atomic energy as a convenient cover for weapons development, a charge Tehran denies.
The EU diplomat in Brussels quoted from a letter sent to Rowhani earlier this month by Straw, France's Michel Barnier and Germany's Joschka Fischer and Solana warning Iran about its threats to resume key nuclear activities.
The letter notably warned Tehran of negative consequences if it broke its pledges under the November agreement with the EU, signed in Paris and certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"Iran should be in no doubt that any such change to the suspension would be a clear breach of the Paris agreement and of the IAEA resolutions," said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
"It would bring the negotiating process to an end. The consequences beyond could only be negative for Iran."
Despite having had clamored for the Iranians to be brought before the Security Council for possible sanctions, the United States voiced support Wednesday for the talks.
A Bush administration official said the EU-3 have "a pretty good approach," and that their stern warning might get Tehran to refrain from resuming conversion.
"We think that was a pretty good message and the Iranian side responded by suggesting some new conversations and hopefully will back off," the official said on condition of anonymity.

05/19/2005 01:05 GMT