Wiesbaden, Germany - The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany met near Frankfurt on Wednesday to discuss Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

The purpose of the meeting, at which no resolution was expected, was to "consult on possible courses of action," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said.

On Tuesday, Iran signalled its willingness to enter a new round of talks on its nuclear programme, following threats of further sanctions from the so-called 5+1 group of states.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeid Jalili said that the Iranian proposals - dealing with political, economic and security issues - had been updated and were ready to be presented to the 5+1 group.

However, the Iranian package appeared to ignore the main demand of the major powers - that Iran suspend its controversial uranium enrichment programme.

Wednesday's meeting included high-level officials from the foreign ministries of the Russia, China, the United States, Britain and France, alongside the German hosts.

The German foreign ministry had not received official notification of Teheran's willingness to negotiate, according to ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner.

Until this was the case, Ploetner said, there was no change in Iran's "unsatisfactory position."

Earlier in the week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for tougher sanctions against Iran if the country fails to enter talks before the end of September.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to attend the UN General Assembly to be held later this month in New York and deliver a speech to UN delegates.

The nuclear issue is also up for discussion at the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In an interview published earlier this week, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said sanctions should only be used as a last resort and should not target civilians in disputes over nuclear programmes.

"We have not seen concrete evidence that Tehran has an ongoing nuclear weapons programme," ElBaradei told the US publication Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

"But somehow, many people are talking about how Iran's nuclear program is the greatest threat to the world. In many ways, I think the threat has been hyped."

The comments were in contrast to a BBC interview in June, when ElBaradei said Iran wanted to have the option for building a nuclear weapon, if the regime decides to do so.

Some countries fear that Iran, which kept its nuclear activities secret for almost two decades, has been engaged in a nuclear weapons programme that could eventually be used against its arch foe, Israel.

Iran has categorically denied the charges and said its nuclear projects are for civilian and peaceful purposes. (dpa)