Germany will host high-level talks this week between the United States, China, France, Britain, Russia and Germany on Iran's disputed nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The United States, Germany, France and Britain have threatened Iran with harsher UN sanctions if it carries on enriching uranium and refuses to clear up concerns that it has conducted extensive research into how to build a nuclear weapon.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said the talks would be held at "senior civil servant level", but declined to give details of where they would take place.
France's Foreign Ministry said the talks would be in Frankfurt on Wednesday. Spokesman Eric Chevallier said the meeting would help prepare for high level discussions on Iran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.
Iran had so far refused to enter into meaningful talks over its nuclear program, he said.
"If not ... we will have no other choice than to seek a very substantial strengthening of sanctions. We hope that Iran rapidly chooses cooperation rather than isolation," he added.
An International Atomic Energy Agency report issued on Friday said Iran had failed to heed Security Council demands that it stop enriching uranium and cooperate with the agency's investigation "to exclude the possibility of military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program."
Russia and China reluctantly backed three rounds of sanctions against Iran's nuclear and missile industries since 2006, though they worked hard to water down the measures before agreeing to vote for them in the Security Council.
Moscow and Beijing, like the United States, Britain and France, are veto-wielding permanent council members and can strike down any resolution that reaches the 15-nation panel.
Iran says it is enriching uranium only for electricity generation. Western powers suspect Iran's declared civilian nuclear program is a facade for developing the capability to produce atomic bombs.
