UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday urged Iran to heed the advice of chief of the UN nuclear watchdog and return to the negotiating table.

"I think the Iranians will have to heed the advice of Mr. ( Mohamed) ElBaradei and convince the international community that their intention is only for peaceful uses of nuclear energy," Annan told reporters.

"I think it ought to be possible for them to come back to the table," he said, hoping that the Europeans will be able to come to some understanding on their own positions and then sit with the Iranians for further talks.

Annan also expressed the hope that the Security Council would find a way out of the current deadlock on the issue of Iran's disputed nuclear program.

"The issue is really who should deal with the file -- whether it is at the technical level at the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) or should it come to the council," he said.

"I think it ought to be possible for them to find a way forward, " he added.

Key members of the 15-nation Security Council have been wrangling over how to respond to the Iranian nuclear crisis after it was reported to the UN body by the IAEA in early March. The council remains deadlocked over the text of a presidential statement to be issued on the matter.

Foreign ministers of the United States, Russia, China and the EU trio -- Britain and France are scheduled to meet in Berlin Thursday on Iran.

Source: Xinhua