US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman has said the Bush Administration is hoping to settle the dispute over Iran's nuclear program diplomatically.
"We're hopeful that these matters can be settled diplomatically," Bodman said. "We're hopeful that things will be peaceful."
Meanwhile, Iran and Germany's foreign ministers will meet in Berlin on Saturday, weeks before the expiry of a deadline for Iran to respond to an offer of incentives if it suspends nuclear enrichment.
A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry Martin Jaeger told a government news conference today that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki would discuss "issues of multilateral interest". He gave no further details.
Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia - have offered Iran a package of incentives if it suspends its uranium enrichment programme, which could be used to make an atomic bomb.