The United States and the European Union (EU) on Thursday in Vienna urged Iran to accept the six-power proposal as the meeting of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began a debate on Iran's nuclear issue.

U.S. chief delegate Gregory L. Schulte said Iran has been resisting cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog "on almost every outstanding issue."

He warned that refusing the six-power proposal, which was presented to Iran last week by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in exchange for Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment, could bring Iran to bear "the weight of the Security Council."

Schulte told reporters outside the meeting that there was wide agreement among the IAEA board that Iran must cooperate now.

"With few exceptions, countries on the board... call on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA and create the conditions necessary for a comprehensive settlement," he said.

Meanwhile, the European Union also urged Iran to cooperate at a early date.

In a statement, the EU said the six-nation offer was a "cooperative approach... a balanced approach... The EU urges Iran to respond positively to this far-reaching initiative."

Francois-Xavier Deniau, France's chief delegate to the board meeting, said in a separate statement that Iran has refused to cooperate with the agency's probe of its uranium enrichment and other related activities that could be linked to a weapons program.

"Cooperation with the agency has been reduced to almost nothing these last few months and... numerous important questions remain to be resolved," he said.

The six powers have urged Iran to respond before a G8 summit in mid-July. If Iran rejects the package, the Western powers may push for UN-backed sanctions, a step China and Russia have resisted, diplomats say.

Details of the proposal remain unknown. But diplomatic sources said it includes a light-water nuclear reactor and a foreign supply of atomic fuel for Iran, as well as an offer to suspend sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council.

Source: Xinhua