U.S. says further "punitive" steps against Iran needed

ABOARD AIRFORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday it believed world powers had to take further "punitive" measures against Iran because Tehran gave no concrete reply to their demand that it freeze its nuclear activities.

The U.S. comments came hours ahead of a conference call with senior officials from China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain to decide how to proceed.

The major powers say they fear Tehran wants to build an atomic bomb. But Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, insists it is only seeking to master nuclear technology to generate electricity.

"In the absence of a positive response to the generous offer that we provided for in our extended package, we think that the allies will have no choice but to take further measures that would be punitive," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said aboard Air Force One.

Iran's one-page letter handed to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday gave no firm reply to an offer from the major powers to refrain from more U.N. penalties if Iran freezes expansion of its nuclear work. Iran instead promised a "clear response" at an unspecified date.

"I think that the Iranians have long stalled on responding to the allies, so I think the most important thing we can do is let the political directors have their conference call and decide on their next steps," said Perino, traveling with U.S. President George W. Bush in Asia.

"QUESTION IS CLEAR"

The letter from Tehran said, "Iran is ready to provide a 'clear response' to your proposal at the earliest possibility, while simultaneously expecting to receive your 'clear response' to our questions and ambiguities as well."

Referring to the letter, Perino said, "We don't have the decent and responsive statement from the Iranians."

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal agreed, saying Iran has not answered the most basic question.

"The question posed is clear and calls for a simple answer: does Iran accept the "freeze for freeze" offer to launch negotiations? It does not require further clarification," Nadal told reporters in Paris.

"We regret that Iran has once again chosen not to answer clearly despite all the efforts the six have made these past weeks to offer a framework for negotiations," he added.

A spokesman for Germany's foreign minister told a news conference that officials would use the conference call later on Wednesday to jointly analyze and evaluate the letter.

"The German government believes it is important to maintain the unity between the EU3 (Germany, France and Britain) plus 3 (United States, China and Russia) and that this unity is an important recipe for the success of our policy towards Iran."

SANCTIONS

Tehran has repeatedly refused to halt its atomic work, prompting the U.N. Security Council to impose three rounds of penalties on Iran since 2006. The United States also maintains its own sanctions against Iran.

Diplomats cautioned it would be difficult to pass a fourth round of Security Council sanctions against Iran because of reluctance from Russia and China, as well as Germany.

The major powers have said formal talks on the incentives could only start once Iran suspends uranium enrichment, the part of the program that most worries the West because it has military and civilian uses.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said this week his country could easily close the Strait of Hormuz, a key Gulf shipping route, if it were attacked over its nuclear program -- prompting a warning from the United States that such a move would be a "self-defeating exercise".

Israeli cabinet minister Shaul Mofaz, a frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, denounced his native Iran on Wednesday as "the root of all evil" and said its nuclear program constituted a threat to world peace.

He urged the West to impose stiffer sanctions to pressure Iran to stop its nuclear program. Israel is widely believed to have assembled the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal.

(Additional reporting by Francois Murphy in Paris and Madeline Chambers in Berlin; Writing by Caroline Drees; Editing by Mary Gabriel)