Brussels, 09/10/2006 (AN/NA) - After their meeting in London on 6 October, the foreign ministers of the “Six” (EU3 - Germany, France and United Kingdom -, China, United States and Russia) decided to continue their debate in order to “define” economic and diplomatic sanctions - as foreseen in Article 41 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter - against Iran for failing to comply with the requirements of Resolution 1696. Discussions between experts are expected to last several weeks before a new Security Council resolution can be drafted. After several weeks of unfruitful discussion between EU High Representative Javier Solana, mandated by the Six, and the Chief Iranian negotiator on the nuclear issue, Ari Larijani, the British Foreign Minister, Margaret Beckett, was unable to hide her disappointment at Iran's refusal to suspend all its uranium enrichment-related activities. “We are deeply disappointed”, she said after the meeting, before going on to add: “We had said that there were two possible roads and we regret that Iran did not take the right one”. Welcoming the “unity” of the Six but deploring the “lack of resolve on the part of Iran” to continue talks, her French counterpart, Philippe Douste-Blazy, nonetheless said that the sanctions envisaged against Tehran would be “proportionate” and “reversible”, leaving the “door open to dialogue”. (eh)