VIENNA, Sept 12: The United States and Europe appeared closer to agreement ahead of a meeting on Monday of the UN nuclear watchdog over setting a deadline for Iran to allay suspicions it is secretly making atomic weapons , but Tehran insisted on its right to develop peaceful nuclear technology.

Britain, France and Germany are ready to set a November deadline for Iran to respond to concern about its nuclear programme, in a draft resolution that brings the so-called Euro 3 closer to the US hard line, diplomats said on Saturday.

But differences remain for the meeting in Vienna of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) 35-nation board of governors. "We're still in negotiations with the Europeans. The jury is still out," a US official said, about talks taking place mainly by telephone.

Another US official said the United States is "very pleased with the negotiating positions of our European friends" and thought the talks were "moving in our direction".

The first official said the resolution "needs to be a little clearer on what Iran needs to do" as such deadlines have in the past failed to force Iran to provide full information.

The resolution does not oblige the IAEA to take any specific action, falling short of US demands for a so-called "trigger mechanism" that would oblige the agency to take Iran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions if certain conditions were not met, a diplomat familiar with the text said.

"The trigger is not yet mounted on the gun," the US official said. "We think it's imperative to break the cycle" of Iran's delaying full disclosure of its nuclear programme and honouring promises to suspend the nuclear fuel cycle, the official said.

"The further down the road we kick the can (on this issue), the longer the Iranian weapons programme will have to continue before anybody does anything about it," the US official said.

Bolton's chief of staff Fred Fleitz is to attend the IAEA meeting this week, the official said. The United States has said urgent action is needed since Iran has announced its intention to convert 37 tons of mineral uranium into a gas that is the feed for enriching uranium. Uranium can be enriched through centrifuges into a highly refined form that can be used as fuel for civilian reactors or to make atomic bombs. -AFP