Europe and the US today rejected overtures from a senior Iranian ambassador to rekindle talks aimed at defusing the confrontation over its suspect nuclear programme.

Western diplomats remain undecided over the extent of punitive action with which to threaten Tehran, with Russia and China continuing to appeal for restraint as momentum builds elsewhere for UN sanctions.

The five permanent Council members are struggling to reach a consensus in advance of an emergency meeting of the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency on February 2.

Philippe Douste-Blazy, the French Foreign Minister, arrived in Moscow for talks aimed at thawing relations with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Russia, which has just signed a $1 billion (£566 million) contract to build Iran’s first nuclear reactor, has suggested a compromise which would lead to a more gradual increase of pressure on the Islamic republic.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in China, which obtains 12 per cent of its oil from Iran and is even less enthusiastic for sanctions, has once more urged patience.

In a rare conciliatory intervention Dr Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA, last night called for a return to negotiations which stalled after two years when Iran removed the seals from equipment at three nuclear plants earlier this month. "There are still issues which we can discuss," he said.

The request was swiftly rejected by the West as "not credible" if the uranium enrichment research - widely seen as cover for work on a nuclear weapons programme - is not halted.

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said in Washington that until then: "There's not much to talk about." While not having ruled out military action, she said that such a strike remains a distant prospect.

Denis Simonneau, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, said that Iran's decision to resume research in defiance of its agreement "means that it is not possible for us to meet under satisfactory conditions to pursue these discussions."

A spokesman for the Foreign Office in Britain said: "Iranian professions of continued interest in negotiations are not credible. The Iranians knew full well that resuming enrichment-related activity would trigger a halt to talks, and did it anyway."

A new front opened in the dispute today with the US signing a deal with India to share civilian nuclear technology. India has close economic ties to Iran, as an important supplier of refined petrol, and has yet to take sides in the complex game of diplomatic chess.

Meanwhile, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran was visiting Syria to consolidate the countries' historical friendship. Syria is also engaged in a stand-off with the international community, over the murder of the Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri.

Mr Ahmadinejad has refused to back down and yesterday accused the UN of acting like "lords of the world" by denying Iran 'peaceful use of the atom.'

Britain, the US, France and Germany have drawn up a draft resolution that would ask the Security Council to press Iran "to extend full and prompt cooperation" to the IAEA in its investigation of suspect nuclear activities. The draft resolution stops short of asking the council to impose sanctions.

Russia and China each hold a veto on the Security Council and have so far opposed sanctioning a country with which they have economic and strategic ties.

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said. "I think we have to think step by step, and above all send a signal to Iran that shows the international community won't accept it if Iran doesn't respect the commitments that are expected of it and the promises it has made."

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