Related: IAEA set to back EU statement on Iran nuclear issue

    VIENNA, Nov. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- At the request of some International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member countries, the European Union (EU) agreed to give more time for breaking the current Iran nuclear deadlock, British Ambassador to the IAEA Peter Jenkins said Thursday.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei gestures during a board meeting at the IAEA headquarters Nov. 24 in Vienna. (AFP)

    Speaking for the EU presidency, Jenkins said that the EU, the leading nuclear negotiator with Iran, agreed to give Iran more time for talks. But he warned Iran against making any "unilateral moves" to increase its atomic activities.

    The EU had "acceded to the request of several board members who have asked for more time for diplomatic dialogue on the future of Iran's nuclear program," Jenkins told reporters. However, Iran needs "to implement the confidence-building measures" for which the IAEA has called, namely to cease uranium conversion work, he added.

    "Iran should not conclude that this window of opportunity will remain open in all circumstances," he warned.

    He said the EU "sees grounds for deep concern" that Iran "has admitted to having in its possession a document which was supplied" by an international black market and which is a guide to making the explosive core of an atom bomb.

    Britain reserves the right to convene a special session of the IAEA ahead of the next scheduled meeting in March to consider referring Iran to the UN Security Council, said Jenkins.

    The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, Thursday decided to put off taking Iran to the UN Security Council to give time for new Russian diplomacy.

    Talks on a Russian proposal to allow Iran to conduct uranium enrichment in Russia instead of in Iran, in order to keep Tehran from obtaining nuclear technology crucial to making atom bombs, will now take center stage.

    Iran has refused to give up enrichment on its territory but Iranian ambassador to the IAEA Mohammad Akhondzadeh praised the "positive trend" over the "last couple of weeks" and said Iran was "prepared to follow the path of negotiation with other countries."

    The IAEA's 35-nation board of governors was meeting in Vienna to review progress since Sept. 24, when it found Iran had not complied with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a finding that requires eventual referral to the Security Council for possible international sanctions.

    The EU-Iran talks collapsed in August when Iran broke a suspension of uranium conversion, the first step towards making enriched uranium, which can be used to fuel nuclear reactors and as the explosive core of atom bombs.     

    The EU and the United States charged that Iran is, despite its denials, using its drive towards atomic energy for electricity generation as a cover for developing nuclear weapons.

    Russia, China and non-aligned states opposed the referral, insisting on Iran's right, according to the NPT, to work on the nuclear fuel cycle. Enditem