Six world powers meet over Iran's nuclear defiance

BERLIN, May 11 (Reuters) Senior officials from six world powers met in Berlin to discuss Iran's defiance of UN demands that it stop uranium enrichment work the West believes is at the center of a secret atom-bomb plan.

The United Nations has already imposed limited sanctions after Tehran rejected resolutions ordering it to freeze the work. Iran says its nuclear programme is for electricity to benefit its economy by allowing it to export more oil and gas.

Political directors from the five permanent UN Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- plus Germany assessed the situation on the sidelines of a Group of Eight meeting in Berlin.

An official at the US Embassy confirmed the meeting was over and that Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns had left Berlin heading to Croatia.

A diplomat from one of the six participating countries declined to give details about the talks. He said there would be more consultations among the powers.

''It was a good, constructive meeting. We'll be having further discussions amongst the countries in the coming days and weeks to see where we go from here,'' the diplomat said yesterday.

It was not immediately clear what decisions, if any, were made at the closed-door meeting. Diplomats from countries attending said the Americans had been eager to discuss possible language for a new sanctions resolution.

In Washington, US President George W Bush tried to keep up the pressure on Tehran, telling a Republican National Committee gathering, ''One of the great dangers facing civilisation is an Iran with a nuclear weapon.'' Urging American resolve in the unpopular war in Iraq, Bush said Iran would be emboldened if the United States withdrew its forces ''before the job was done.'' US officials have accused Iran of meddling in Iraq, a charge Tehran denies.

NEW SANCTIONS? Germany's Foreign Ministry declined to comment after the meeting, but said earlier that new sanctions would not be discussed and countries were awaiting UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohammed ElBaradei's report on Iranian compliance with the UN resolutions in late May.

The ministry said the delegations intended to use the Berlin talks to prepare for the next meeting between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.

Solana met Larijani last month and said the meeting was very difficult as Iran had said it had no intention of suspending uranium enrichment.

In a briefing for reporters at the US Embassy on Wednesday, Burns gave no deadline for Iran to suspend enrichment but said if Tehran had not moved by the G8 summit on June 6 to 8, it would be time to increase sanctions.

Discussions on Iran were continuing in Berlin at a G8 political directors meeting to prepare for the summit in Heiligendamm, Germany.

Reuters JK SBA VP0615