The world's major powers, including Russia, were said tonight to have all but agreed to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its decision to resume work on its nuclear programme.

But President Vladimir Putin, although agreeing that Russia's position was "very close" to that of the Europe and the United States, said in Moscow that no "abrupt, mistaken steps" should be taken in tackling the crisis.

Mr Putin was speaking after talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who made her first trip to Moscow as German leader to press Mr Putin on the need for firm action against Tehran after it broke UN seals on a uranium enrichment facility in central Iran.

Mr Putin added, however, that Iran had not ruled out the possibility of conducting its uranium enrichment on Russian soil - a compromise that would allow Tehran to develop its nuclear power industry while assuaging fears that it might develop atomic bombs.

"We proposed to our Iranian partners to set up a joint enrichment venture on Russian territory," Mr Putin said. "We have heard various opinions from our Iranian partners on that issue. One of them has come from the foreign ministry - our partners told us they did not exclude the implementation of our proposal."

"As for Russia, and Germany, and our European partners and the United States, we have very close positions on the Iranian problem," Mr Putin added.

The Russo-German summit came as British, French and German diplomats told the United States, Russia and China that they plan to call for an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss Iran on February 2-3.

The announcement was made after a meeting of European diplomats in London. “The EU/E3 informed other participants (of a meeting in London) of their intention to call for an extraordinary IAEA board meeting on 2-3 February,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Office in London.

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said today that the very act of moving the issue to the UN would be enough to make Iran back down without the need to consider sanctions.

“I don’t think we should rush our fences here. There are plenty of examples where a matter is referred to the Security Council and the Security Council takes action and that action is followed without sanction,” said Mr Straw.

“The fact that Iran is so concerned not to see it referred to the Security Council underlines the strength of that body.”

A European diplomatic source told the told the AFP news agency that Russia had now agreed that Tehran should be referred to the Council. "The Russians are agreed now. They have changed their position," said the source. "The Chinese are still a little hesitant, but effectively a Security Council referral is now a done deal. It will go to the Security Council."

Moscow made the proposal last year that uranium for Iran could be enriched in Russia. That would ensure oversight so that the uranium would be enriched only to the level needed for use in reactors at Iran’s Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant, rather than to the higher level needed for a nuclear warhead.

Moscow, which has a $1 billion stake in the construction of the nuclear plant, has not yet said publicly whether it will accept a Western push for Iran to be referred to the Security Council at a meeting next month of the IAEA.

There is still a clear divergence of opinion on the speed and strength of any action against Iran. While America is pushing for Tehran to be referred to the Security Council as soon as possible, Mr Putin warned Western powers against pushing the issue too fast.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, has admitted that after three years of studying Iran's nuclear facilities, he is still "not yet in a position to make a judgment on the peaceful nature of the programme".

"If they have the nuclear material and they have a parallel weaponisation programme along the way, they are really not very far - a few months - from a weapon," he told Newsweek magazine in an article published today.

Dr ElBaradei said that the stand-off was reaching a critical point. "We are coming to the litmus test in the next few weeks," he told Newsweek.

"Diplomacy is not just talking. Diplomacy has to be backed by pressure and, in extreme cases, by force. We have rules. We have to do everything possible to uphold the rules through conviction. If not, then you impose them."

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