Diplomats from six world powers meet in Berlin today to discuss Iran's refusal to abide by a UN Security Council deadline to freeze its nuclear enrichment programme.
The negotiators from Germany and the five permanent Security Council members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - are expected to consider imposing sanctions due to Iran continuing enrichment of uranium past the August 31st deadline.
Iran maintains the programme is for the generation of nuclear power, but the West believes the Islamic republic is aiming to develop nuclear weapons.
Diplomats said the United States hoped to use the meeting to persuade Russia and China that it was time to increase pressure on Iran by preparing to ask the UN Security Council to consider sanctions.
They said Russia and China would probably want to know the outcome of a planned meeting between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani before discussing possible sanctions.
Referring to UN Security Council resolution 1696 passed on July 31st, US undersecretary of State Robert Joseph said the council had already struck the "fundamental bargain" by agreeing that sanctions should be the next step if Iran continued enriching.
But Russia and China are reticent about sanctions and question whether Tehran really poses a nuclear threat to the world as the United States and EU believe.