Thursday, January 19 2006 10:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The United States and the European Union yesterday (Jan 18,2006) rebuffed an Iranian call for new talks on their nuclear dispute and pressed their drive to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the Iranians had yet to show they were ready to deal with Western fears they were seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Rice said the message from Washington's European allies, which had been negotiating with Tehran, was 'there is not much to talk about' after Iran moved to resume sensitive nuclear research last week.

"I think it's up to the Iranians to demonstrate that they are not just talking but they are serious," Rice told reporters before meeting with Solana at the State Department.

"It was the Iranians who walked away from the negotiations, who broke the moratorium (on nuclear activities)," Rice said of the effort led by Britain, France and Germany to resolve the crisis.

The so-called EU-3 has joined with the United States in seeking an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, with the aim of hauling Iran before the UN Security Council.

Solana said the EU had received a letter from Iran's national security adviser requesting a resumption of the discussions on a package of economic and other incentives for Tehran that began more than a year ago.