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The United States, its European allies and other governments are working together to craft a possible UN response to what the Bush administration and others characterize as Iran's inadequate answer to demands that it cease uranium enrichment.

Iran maintains it has offered "positive and clear signals" to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program, but could face UN sanctions unless it reverses course and agrees to a verifiable halt to enrichment activities that can be a precursor to the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

A day after the Bush administration issued a guarded assessment of Iran's long-awaited response, German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday said Teheran's response appears unsatisfactory, and is missing a "decisive sentence" on whether it would halt uranium enrichment.

"We are still examining it, but from everything that I hear we cannot be satisfied," Merkel said in an interview with N24 television. "What we expected is not set down here: 'we are suspending our uranium enrichment, we are coming to the negotiating table and we will then talk about the chances and possibilities for Iran.'"

"That unfortunately is not the case. We will call for it to happen in the coming days, but the decisive sentence is missing in this answer," she added.

The comments by Merkel, a close ally of President George W. Bush, reflect the increasing frustration by the United States and its key European allies who have been forced to wait for several weeks for an Iranian response that many now say falls significantly short of expectations.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy says Iran must suspend uranium enrichment if it wants to return to negotiations.

But others are still urging patience in dealing with Iran. Russia's foreign ministry said it would continue to seek a negotiated solution and China appealed for patience and more dialogue.

The US State Department acknowledged that Iran considered its proposal to be a serious one and promised to "review it."

But the US statement issued on Wednesday went on to say that Iran's response to a joint offer of US and European trade and other benefits if the enrichment program was halted "falls short of the conditions set by the Security Council" full and verifiable suspension of all uranium-enrichment activity.

"We are consulting closely, including with other members of the Security Council, on next steps," it said.

The United Nations has set a deadline of next Thursday for a formal reply by Teheran.

Bush met with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the White House and before discussing Iran's proposal in a telephone call with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Rice spoke on the telephone with Javier Solana, the senior European Union diplomat who oversees exchanges with Iran.

The Bush administration has told Iran that it will seek unspecified sanctions in the Security Council if Teheran does not step enriching uranium.

But by not rejecting Iran's proposal outright, the administration indicated there may be a basis for dealing with long-held concerns that Teheran is developing nuclear weapons, an allegation the Iranians deny.

"The diplomats are continuing to look at it," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "We're working with our allies."

(China Daily August 25, 2006)