Envoys from Britain, China, Russia, France, Germany and the United States met Friday in Washington to discuss further sanctions against Iran after the Tehran government continues to defy United Nations demands to pull the plug on its nuclear programme.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are decided to take immediate action against Iran in order to avoid a potential conflict, that could erupt if the international community’s beliefs turn out to be true and Iran is actually building nuclear weapons under the umbrella of its civilian programme.

Tehran rejected the accusations in numerous rows, saying the uranium enrichment is aimed at boosting the energetic sector and does not contribute to the construction of weapons of mass destruction.

Iranian officials threatened to disrupt the collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if the Security Council dictates new sanctions.

Drastic measures are not likely to emerge in the near future because China and Russia welcomed the discussions between Tehran envoys and representatives of the IAEA and refrained from criticizing the policy adopted by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is currently on a visit in Washington, just a few days after causing a huge wave of controversy with his stinging remarks. Kouchner made a statement last Sunday, which was interpreted as a possible declaration of war over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

The French diplomat met Friday with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ahead of the discussions with members of the UN Security Council and Germany’s envoy.

Rice said both the French and US governments will continue to pressure Iran to comply with international demands and further sanctions can appear if Tehran continues to ignore calls made by UN member nations.

“We had an extensive discussion of the situation in Iran and the need for Iran to adhere to the just demands of the international community,” Rice said in a joint press conference with Kouchner.

So far, two sanctions has been imposed by the Security Council on Iran, urging the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to halt the nuclear programme until its goals are revealed and the UN nuclear watchdog evaluates the potential of its nuclear facilities.

France adopted a hard-line stance towards this dispute after Nicolas Sarkozy won the presidential election and succeeded former president Jacques Chirac.

In August, Sarkozy said the nuclear standoff must end because it would lead to “a catastrophic alternative: an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran.”

Similar remarks were made by Kouchner who said the world must be prepared “for the worst, and the worst is war.” He added that there is “no greater crisis today” than Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, a statement which sparked widespread criticism.

Many state leaders condemned the interpretable words and blamed the French government for stirring unnecessary controversy in a time when Iran began cooperating with the international community.

The French diplomat said his statement shouldn’t be regarded as a war declaration, because it’s actually a warning signal and “war is the worst case.”

“To avoid that, the French stance is negotiate, negotiate, negotiate until the end,” he said.

The Iranian issue threatens to become a crisis if the proper measures aren’t adopted and the situation is expected to be thoroughly dissected next week in New York during meetings of the UN General Assembly.