Foreign ministers from the European Union's three biggest nations -- the so-called EU3 -- met Thursday following Iran's moves to restart its nuclear program.
"Our talks with Iran have reached a dead end," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting with British and French counterparts, Jack Straw and Philippe Douste-Blazy, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. (Watch what option remains after diplomacy and force -- 2:56)
Straw said the group decided to call for an emergency session with the board of the IAEA to vote on referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council.
The European ministers did not say exactly what action should be taken by the Security Council, which could impose sanctions, but officials in London and Moscow said envoys from the EU3 would meet counterparts from China, Russia and the U.S. next week to discuss the issue further.
As well as possible economic sanctions, there have been calls for cultural and sports boycotts, including the banning of Iran from soccer's 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The calls resurfaced Friday as Bayern Munich played a match in Iran against Persepolis Tehran, to criticism in Germany. (Full story)
France said Friday that it favored a step-by-step approach over Iran's contested nuclear program and that any sanctions request at this stage would be premature.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said France's priority for now is convening a special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council.
The U.N. Security Council could decide to sanction Iran. But Mattei did not prejudge what action the council might take.
He said France, Britain and Germany regard any sanctions request as being "premature for the moment."
"We'll see what happens at the Security Council," he said in a telephone interview with Ths Associated Press. "One step at a time."
However, in an interview with BBC radio Friday, Britain's Straw said sanctions were possible. "Obviously, if Iran failed to comply, the Security Council would then consider sanctions," he said.
Russia meanwhile renewed its call for Iran to resume its moratorium on nuclear activities and cooperation with the IAEA. (Full story)
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Rice said Iran's action "demonstrates that it has chosen confrontation with the international community over cooperation and negotiation."
A statement outlining a phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Rice said both sides shared "a deep disappointment over Tehran's decision."
The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal reported that during the call, Lavrov told Rice that Russia would abstain, rather than vote against, efforts to move the issue from the IAEA to the Security Council.
China, which imports significant amounts of Iranian oil, said it hoped Tehran would return to talks on the dispute and urged all parties to exercise restraint.
"We hope Iran can do more to promote mutual confidence between itself and the EU3, and return to negotiations," Reuters quoted a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, Kong Quan, as saying.
Britain, Germany and France, and obviously Israel.... Along with the US, that's a pretty strong coalition.
