NEW YORK, Sept 18: The United States, faced with a growing reluctance among its allies to impose sanctions on Iran, showed a new readiness on Monday to accept a two-pronged approach in its bid to end Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in in New York on Monday for the UN General Assembly, said the United States was continuing to press for a UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

Ms Rice has insisted the sanctions are an essential first response to Iran’s refusal to heed an earlier Security Council resolution that gave Tehran until Aug 31 to freeze its enrichment program — which can produce fuel for nuclear power generation but also provide the material for atomic weapons.

But the Americans softened their approach after French President Jacques Chirac broke ranks and called for continued negotiations with Iran prior to taking any steps towards sanctions.

It was the first time a European leader has clearly stated that suspending uranium enrichment was not a precondition for opening negotiations on the nuclear dossier — a stance fiercely defended until now by the United States.—AFP