Foreign ministers from the six powers and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana held a conference call over the weekend to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue, Rice said.

"I should note, too, that it is possible but not yet certain that we may have a P5+1 on Iran toward the end of the week," said Rice.

Rice made the remarks in Shannon, Ireland, as she set off on a trip to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The P5+1 refers five permanent UN Security Council members -- China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States -- and Germany.

"We did have a discussion of the importance of remaining firm on Resolution 1696, which means that if the Iranians don't suspend, then we will go to the Security Council for sanctions," she said.

Solana said last Thursday that he had failed to strike a deal with Iran's chief negotiator Ali Larijani on Iran's nuclear issue, but said they would hold another round of talks soon.

Iran has failed to meet the UN Security Council's deadline for suspending its nuclear activities by Aug. 31, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last Saturday reiterated his country's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities.