The world’s top powers banded together today to warn a defiant Iran against pursuing sensitive nuclear research.

Jack Straw held out the prospect that Iran could eventually face sanctions if it declines to co-operation, but Russia and China ruled out using sanctions or force.

The United Nations Security Council permanent members plus Germany met in Berlin, after the Council had unanimously approved a statement yesterday giving Iran 30 days to abandon its uranium enrichment activities. The statement - which is non-binding - ended a weeks-long impasse at UN headquarters in New York over how to respond to Iran's resumption of nuclear enrichment in January.

"This is a strong sign to Iran that negotiation not confrontation should be their course," said Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State. Mr Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, said that sanctions remained an option.

Iran gave a defiant response to the UN statement and said it would not halt its uranimum enrichment work. "Iran’s decision on enrichment, particularly research and development is irreversible," said Aliasghar Soltanieh, the Iranian Ambassador in Vienna.

The UN statement leaves open what consequences might follow if Tehran refuses to comply. Russia and China - both of which have significant economic interests with Iran - insisted that economic sanctions or military action did not belong on the table. "The Chinese side feels there has already been enough turmoil in the Middle East and we do not want to see more turmoil introduced into the region," said Dai Bingguo, the Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister.

The UN talks had been marred by differences between the United States and its Western allies on the one hand and Russia and China on the other over how to coax Tehran away from uranium enrichment, a crucial process for the development of a nuclear bomb.

The statement that finally prevailed is a watered-down version of a Franco-British statement that calls on Iran to meet demands from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It expresses clear concern that Iran is trying to acquire nuclear weapons secretly, demands that Iran comply with the wishes of the IAEA governing board and calls for an IAEA report within 30 days.

The non-binding declaration was seen as a bid to placate Russia and China, which have opposed any hint of punitive measures against Iran, an ally and key trading partner. In a further concession, the co-sponsors extended the deadline to 30 days from the 14 days they had initially sought.

Washington and European powers believe Iran has ambitions of building a nuclear bomb, which they argue would destabilise the entire region. Tehran vehemently denies the charge and says its nuclear programme is purely peaceful.

It is unclear how the crisis will unfold if Iran refuses to buckle before the 30-day deadline is up. Speaking to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, said that Tehran would formally offer to set up a"regional consortium" to enrich fuel for its nuclear programme, implying that it would be set up in Iran.

Britain, France and Germany - known as the EU-3 - pursued three years of inconclusive negotiations to convince Tehran to stand down on its nuclear programme in exchange for economic incentives. They gave up in January, when Iran went back to enrichment.

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