Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami (L) meets UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations in New York September 12, 2006. -Xinhua/Reuters

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed yesterday for more patience on Iranian nuclear issue in order to find solution through negotiations.

"I don't think confrontation (with Iran) is in anyone's interest," Annan told reporters in a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York. "I don't think it's a question of how much time you have to give before you lose patience."

It was wrong to look at the impasse as a test of the patience, he argued.

The UN chief just finished his two-week trip to the Middle East late last week. During his visit to Teheran, he had urged the Iranian leaders "to lift the cloud of uncertainty surrounding their (nuclear) program."

The secretary-general pointed out that the main problem was mistrust between Iran and the West, saying Iran refused to comply with the demand for a uranium enrichment freeze, and the West suspected Teheran is seeking a covert nuclear weapons capability.

"Do you do it with sanctions or do you get them to the table and negotiate," he said. "The best solution is a negotiated one."

Meanwhile, Annan said Iran is showing a slight shift by expressing that "let's negotiate; suspension will be on the agenda and may be possible in the negotiations" versus outright rejection.

Annan also noted that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani held constructive talks Saturday and said he hoped their next meeting on Thursday "will be equally fruitful."