The Foreign Ministers of France, Britain and Germany have said they believe the time has come for the UN Security Council to become involved in the Iranian nuclear crisis.
Foreign ministers of the European troika said after the crisis talks in Berlin they would ask the International Atomic Energy Agency to convene a special meeting to refer the matter to the highest UN body.
In a statement the ministers said they believed talks with Iran had reached an impasse.
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has joined European powers in saying Iran must be referred to the Security Council.
In Iran, a senior official has said his country is not worried about being referred to the UNSC over its nuclear programme.
Before going into the meeting, the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said he believed referral of Iran to the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear programme was likely.
Such a move could lead to the imposition of sanctions, despite Tehran's insistence that the purpose of its research is to produce electricity, and not nuclear weapons.
Mr Straw met his French and German counterparts, Philippe Douste-Blazy and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
It was announced earlier today that representatives from Britain, France and Germany will discuss the matter in London next week with diplomats from the United States, China and Russia.
Iran is reported to have completed the removal of UN seals on its nuclear fuel research sites.
The decision on Tuesday to begin to remove seals was a prelude to resuming research, which the IAEA says will involve limited enrichment which could lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
However, the equipment is said to be in a poor state and it is thought that Iran is a long way from being able to enrich uranium.
