IRAN: Iran's nuclear programme does not pose an imminent threat and sanctions would be a bad way of resolving the stand-off with Tehran, according to Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
His remarks came after British foreign secretary Jack Straw said Tehran "could" face sanctions if it failed to heed yesterday's UN Security Council presidential statement and halt its production of enriched uranium.
"Sanctions are a bad idea. We are not facing an imminent threat, we need to lower the pitch," said Dr ElBaradei.
The foreign ministers of the UN Security Council's permanent members meeting in Berlin yesterday declined to add to Mr Straw's remarks on sanctions.
"Iran has to decide between self-imposed isolation through continued enrichment activities in disregard of the will of the international community or a return to the negotiations table," said their host, German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier.
"We hope Iran seizes the existing chance and will decide to begin negotiations, and we call for Iran to stop all enrichment activities to once again open the way to negotiations."
The foreign ministers in Berlin issued a statement calling for an "extensive period of confidence-building by Iran to convince the international community of the exclusively peaceful purpose of its nuclear programme".
Mr Straw said the UN statement was proof Tehran had "miscalculated" in thinking the international community would fail to agree a common position.
"They thought the international community would be divided on this issue but in fact they have become more and more united," he said.
The UN presidential statement, approved yesterday after three weeks of negotiations, makes no reference to the consequences of Iranian non-compliance. Dropped during negotiations was a statement that an Iranian nuclear weapons programme would be a "threat to international peace and security", which Russia and China saw as a possible pretext for sanctions, which they oppose.
Another modification gave back to the IAEA joint authority of the Iran issue with the Security Council, again to allay Russian and Chinese fears of sanctions.
The final document gives the IAEA 30 days instead of 14 to report back to the Security Council. "My message to Iran: the international community is getting impatient and you need to respond by arming me with information," said Dr ElBaradei, speaking in Qatar.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice called the UN statement "a strong signal to Iran that negotiation not confrontation should be their course".
Russian and Chinese officials in Berlin underlined their determination to find a peaceful solution. "The Chinese are of the opinion there is already enough unrest in the Middle East and that it's in no one's interest to increase that unrest," said Dai Bingguo, China's deputy foreign minister.
Iran's ambassador to the UN, Javad Zarif, dismissed the UN statement, saying that "Iran is a country that is allergic to pressure and threats and intimidation". In Vienna, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Aliasghar Soltaniyeh, said Tehran would "definitely" continue enrichment.
Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that despite "mistrust", his government was still open to talking with the IAEA.
The current crisis began in January, when E3 countries (Britain, France and Germany) stopped negotiations with Tehran, after it broke international seals on nuclear research facilities.