UNITED NATIONS, March 25: As the American and European diplomats voiced alarm that Iran’s uranium-enrichment program was advancing, the United Nations Security Council remained deadlocked on Friday over a statement on the issue.

The United States, Britain and France think the Security Council should take the lead in pressuring Iran but they are not sure of winning Russian and Chinese support. Russia and China insist that the issue should still be discussed at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On Friday, in a bid to break the deadlock, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talked with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on phone, seeking support for a Security Council statement that would call upon Iran to halt its enrichment activities.

They agreed to instruct diplomats to work through the weekend to try to break the impasse, said a report in the Washington Post.

“I think that everybody just needs to get to work and let’s get this done so that the Iranians have a very clear message about what’s going on,” Ms Rice said.

The US, Britain and France want the Security Council to threaten Iran with tough action while Russia wants to resolve the crisis through continued negotiation.