Vienna  - The European Union and the United States said Wednesday they were ready to start comprehensive talks with Iran on its nuclear programme, but also indicated their support for new measures should Tehran continue to defy the UN Security Council.

Many International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) members are concerned about Iran's refusal to answer lingering questions over past research that could have been related to the development of nuclear weapons.

"We have to react," French Ambassador Francois-Xavier Deniau told the board of the IAEA in Vienna. France holds the rotating EU presidency.

So far, Tehran has not heeded the Security Council's demands to cooperate further with the UN nuclear agency and to stop its uranium enrichment.

"It is not up to Iran to contest the authority of the Security Council or of the Agency," Deniau said.

The ambassador not only said the EU supported the Security Council's work in adopting additional measures, but also reiterated that the offer for comprehensive talks to solve the nuclear issue was still on the table.

Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China have proposed a package that spells out economic benefits for Iran if the country halts its nuclear activities.

"Instead of facing increased sanctions and international isolation, Iran's leaders have the chance to pursue civilian energy cooperation, economic development, and educational and agricultural advances," US Ambassador Gregory Schulte said.

So far, Tehran has not agreed to stop expanding its nuclear facility in Natanz - the six countries' precondition for talks.

These countries should "come to the negotiating table without any precondition," Iranian Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters.

The process to formulate a new resolution in the Security Council hit an obstacle Wednesday, as Russia announced there was no need for an emergency session on Iran.

According to analysts, Moscow's pullout from the Iran talks appeared partly in anger over Western condemnation of its war with Georgia last month.

Iran denies the authenticity of information obtained by the IAEA from various governments, which indicates work on high explosives and missiles could have been related to nuclear weapons development.

Soltanieh said that the documents were bad forgeries. "What a lousy job by the CIA!" he said.

The diplomat said his country considered the issue of the alleged studies closed, but that it was ready to answer additional questions if the IAEA treated its work in Iran as a routine matter.

Meanwhile, the IAEA passed a resolution on Wednesday praising Libya for cooperating with the agency, after the country gave up its nuclear weapons programme in
2003.

Diplomats said the resolution drafted by the United States and Britain was also intended to contrast Libya's position with that of Iran, which has been under the IAEA's investigation since 2002.

"Libya provides an example of how a country can rebuild confidence after serious non-compliance," US Ambassador Gregory Schulte said. "We hope that other countries under IAEA investigation take note."

The IAEA board ended its deliberations on nuclear verification cases Wednesday, save for Syria, which is under investigation for having allegedly built a secret nuclear reactor. (dpa)