German Foreign Minister Frank- Walter Steinmeier said here Wednesday that he would meet his British and French counterparts in Berlin on Thursday over Iran's resumption of its nuclear fuel research.

The European Union's foreign policy commissioner Javier Solana will also attend the meeting to evaluate the situation to see if there were any political space for further negotiations over the issue, Steinmeier told German news agency DPA.

After the meeting, the EU's big three foreign ministers would telephone U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to coordinate stance.

Iran, after rejecting a Russian compromise proposal to enrich its uranium on Russian soil, removed UN seals on their nuclear facilities and resumed nuclear fuel research activities on Tuesday. It had signed an agreement with the European Union in Paris in November 2003 to suspend all activities linked to enrichment. Britain, France and Germany had been seeking to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear program, but formal talks ceased last August when Tehran resumed uranium conversion, a final step before enrichment.

The resumption has drawn "grave concern" from the world community, especially the European Union and the United States.

Steinmeier said Tuesday that Iran had "crossed a line where the Iranians knew that it would not remain without consequences," while Chancellor Angela Merkel said Teheran was sending "worrisome signals."

Washington threatened to seek Iran's referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

Media here quoted British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as saying that referring Iran to the UN Security Council would "top the agenda" at the meeting.

Source: Xinhua