Six powers to meet on Iran next week: officials

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Senior diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, the United States, China and Russia will meet in Washington on Monday to discuss their next moves on Iran's nuclear program, officials said on Friday.

They were speaking after Friday's release of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's new report on Iran's program. On Thursday, France and Britain formally submitted a third sanctions resolution against Iran to the U.N. Security Council.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who will host Monday's meeting, said Washington wanted a quick debate and vote on the resolution, which is aimed at getting Iran to stop enriching uranium, a fuel for nuclear power generation or for weapons.

At that meeting "we'll certainly review the possibility, or desirability of trying to convince the Iranians that another alternative for them ... is the negotiations track," Burns told reporters in Washington.

"We'd like to get to negotiations but it's up to them and as long as they spurn negotiations, we'll be ready to continue sanctioning Iran," he said.

In New York, Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters he hoped for a vote next Friday by the 15-nation council.

Burns said the United States was disappointed to see from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report saying Iran was accelerating its enrichment program, not suspending it.

Western countries fear Iran is aiming to produce atomic weapons but Tehran says the enrichment is part of a peaceful atomic program that it will only use to generate electricity.

Khalilzad said the report would strengthen the hand of Western countries pushing for the third sanctions resolution.

"If some were hoping that the IAEA report would decrease the need or eliminate the need for the next resolution I think they will not find that sort of support or assessment in the IAEA document," he said.

The United States, which supports the resolution drafted by Britain, France and Germany, had hoped it would be passed weeks ago. But council members South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Libya urged a delay until after the IAEA report.

"I do believe that there is already a majority that is seriously interested in pursuing a resolution," Burns said, "so I don't believe this resolution is in trouble, at all."

The draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, calls among other things for asset freezes and mandatory travel bans for specific Iranian officials.

It also expands the list of Iranian officials and companies targeted by the sanctions and repeats the council's demand that Iran halt its uranium enrichment program.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington and Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; Editing by Bill Trott)