The United States said yesterday that Iran should stop uranium enrichment activities as a condition for negotiations to resolve the nuclear standoff.

"We need to see a verifiable suspension of the enrichment program, and then the United States would be prepared to join the negotiations," U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.

Hadley said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will hold a meeting with her counterparts from Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany on Iran's nuclear issue.

"It will be part of the ongoing process of coming together behind a resolution in the Security Council that would involve sanctions on Iran for their failure to meet the requirements the international community has set out in the last resolution," Hadley said.

The UN Security Council passes a resolution in July, asking Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities by the end of August. However, Iran rejected the resolution and the United States has since been seeking UN Security Council sanctions on Iran.