Iran has also called for renewed negotiations with leading European states. On Wednesday, several European countries joined the United States in rejecting Iran’s call, saying Iran needed to halt all nuclear activity before any discussions could continue.

• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice : “I think it’s up to the Iranians to demonstrate that they’re not just talking, that they’re serious. I think the E.U. has already — France has already responded concerning whether or not they think it would make any sense to have discussions with the Iranians at this point. And my understanding is they believe it would not, because it’s the Iranians who walked away from the negotiations, who broke the moratorium. And as that condition exists, I am sensing from the Europeans that there’s not much to talk about.”