Brussels, 06/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - High ranking European diplomats said on Tuesday that the EU would be recommending to the 19 September meeting of the Governing Council of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the IAEA refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council over Iran's nuclear activities, unless Teheran decides in the meantime to suspend uranium enrichment and return to the negotiating table. The same message was relayed by EU foreign ministers at their meeting in Newport, South Wales (see EUROPE 9019, p.5). The IAEA has sole responsibility for deciding whether to refer Iran to the UN, and it is expected to try to gather broad consensus on this sensitive issue, even though from a formal legal viewpoint the Governing Council's decisions are taken by simple majority voting. On Saturday, the IAEA published a report noting that Iran failed to meet the 3 September deadline for stopping uranium enrichment (resumed on 8 August 2005 in violation of the November 2004 Paris Agreement). The Paris Agreement between the EU and Iran marked a pause in the IAEA's proceedings against Iran's nuclear programme, said EU diplomats on Tuesday. They added that this pause is in the process of coming to an end with Iran's refusal to suspend nuclear activity and respect the Paris Agreement. The diplomats said the next logical step was to continue with the normal proceedings and refer the matter to the Security Council. It is too early to talk about sanctions at this stage, they said, seeing it more a time for reporting to the Security Council, which would then decide what moves should be taken. In the run-up to 19 September, the EU will be continuing to consult with other IAEA members, particularly Russia and China.