The European Union admitted on Tuesday that its nuclear talks with Iran have run into a dead end and that it has been left with 'no choice' but to return the matter to the UN Security Council.
In a text adopted in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers expressed deep concern that Iran had not suspended uranium enrichment -- a process for fuelling a nuclear reactor but which could also be used to make an atomic bomb.
Major world powers have been debating whether to sanction Iran for ignoring an August 31 UN deadline to suspend the process, and preparations have been building for action at the Security Council.
"The council (of EU ministers) believed that Iran's continuation of enrichment related activities has left the EU no choice but to support consultations on such measures," they said in conclusions from their talks.
They "expressed deep concern that Iran has not yet suspended its enrichment-related and reprocessing activities as required" by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Security Council.
However the EU left open its door for further diplomacy.
"It reaffirmed its commitment to a negotiated solution, and that such a solution would contribute to the development of the EU's relations with Iran. It urged Iran to take the positive path on offer," the conclusions said.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been leading months of talks to convince the Islamic republic to start negotiations on suspending enrichment in exchange for a package of political and economic incentives.
"Iran refused everything," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told journalists. "So we are returning to the Security Council to find measures that can be phased in but which are reversible."
He said that would allow a return to diplomacy if Iran was ready for it.
For now that appears unlikely. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reaffirmed last week that his government would not back down.
"We have decided to firmly insist on the Iranian nation's right and move forward, step by step, with wisdom, calm, contemplation and patience," he said, adding that "Iran is ready to negotiate under a scientific, legal and reasonable framework."
Solana, for his part, said he remained hopeful that talks with Iran could resume despite the move back to the Security Council, and that he had held telephone talks Monday with top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.
"It's up to the Security Council members to decide, but we want to keep the door open (to negotiations) as long as possible," he said.
But "it's up to Tehran to accept the conditions to start serious negotiations," said Solana, who tried in vain during for three months to convince the Iranians to stop uranium enrichment activities.
Finland, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said the nature of any future sanctions had not been discussed at the talks in Luxembourg.