Foreign Ministers and their representatives from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia gathered in London yesterday for talks on Iran's nuclear standoff after Tehran still defied the UN Security Council's demand to suspend its uranium enrichment.

After the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett issued a statement, saying that participants were "deeply disappointed" that Iran was not prepared to suspend its enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, as required by the IAEA Board and made mandatory in the UN Security Council Resolution 1696.

The participants "will now consult on measures under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, as envisaged in that Resolution," she said.

The UN Charter Article 41 authorizes the council to take punitive measures, such as applying travel, economic and diplomatic sanctions, in order to ensure that its resolutions be implemented.

The participants agreed to continue their efforts to find a negotiated solution, said she, adding that the proposals of June 1st ill remained on the table.

The six countries have offered Iran a package which included political, economic and nuclear technology incentives in return for Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment, but it has repeatedly refused to halt its enrichment program.

Enrichment of uranium is at the core of the dispute over Iran's nuclear program. The process can be used to make nuclear fuel and, in highly enriched form, the explosive core of an atomic bomb.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful energy needs. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in late July, urging Tehran to suspend, by Aug. 31, all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development.