Wednesday, January 18 2006 20:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The United States today (Jan 18, 2006) said it would ask the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refer the disputed nuclear programme of Iran to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

"There is a great deal of frustration among the international community regarding Iran's decision to go ahead with centrifugal research, which is very dangerous," US Deputy Secretary, Political Affairs R Nicholas Burns, told reporters here.

"Also, last week it unilaterally took off the seals from its nuclear plants. Moreover, it is continuously walking away from negotiations. So now we have decided to ask the IAEA to refer the matter to the UNSC to find diplomatic solutions," Burns said.

Burns is in India for discussions to advance the new strategic partnership between India and US.

He said that UNSC was the supreme multilateral body where questions like this could be discussed in bright spotlight on Iran. "The Iranian regime should answer the questions the whole world has on its actual intentions," Burns said.

According to him, the US has "not left diplomacy behind" and this was the next phase of diplomacy the Bush Government is working on "with strong support from the European countries."

Meanwhile, an agency report from Tehran quoted Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying that there was only a "weak" chance of his country being referred to the UN Security Council over its disputed nuclear programme.

On the US stand on Indo-Iran relations in the backdrop of the proposed gas pipeline, Burns said, "We have had discussions on it in the diplomatic circles from time to time. All of us need to look at our relationship with Iran."

He said, "Iran insists on its rights to enrich and reprocess uranium but doesn't talk much about its obligations and responsibilities in the international system."

On Indo-US nuclear programme he said, "We have ventured into a unique international diplomacy in our bilateral atomic relations. India and US have committed to try and achieve civil nuclear agreement between the two countries."

According to him it would take around six to eight months to "decide on how best to proceed" and put that into a bilateral programme that President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could agree upon finally as the way ahead.

Apart from the nuclear issue, US was also keen towards agricultural research, energy needs, infrastructure development, space and higher education.

"We want to explore whether both the Governments could do more in agricultural research with combined involvement of our universities and Indian technical institutes," he said.

He said he would discuss these issues with his Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran over next two days in New Delhi.