After weeks of haggling, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council finally arrived at agreement Wednesday on a presidential statement calling on Iran to resume suspension of all uranium enrichment-related activities.

"Our colleagues in the P-5 (permanent five) have reached an agreement on a text," British Ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry told reporters after he and his counterparts from China, Russia, the United States and France met behind closed doors for nearly two hours.

The 15-nation council discussed and adopted the statement later Wednesday.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton told reporters that the statement requests Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed Elbaradei, to deliver in 30 days a new report to the IAEA board of governors and the Security Council on Iran's compliance with IAEA demands.

The five key council members have been wrangling over how to respond to the crisis over Iran's nuclear plan after the IAEA report the matter to the council in early March.

The United States claims that Iran's program is designed to develop nuclear weapons. But Teheran insists that its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity and it is entitled to develop peaceful nuclear technology under the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

On Thursday, foreign ministers of the five permanent council members and their German colleague are due to meet in Berlin to discuss the international community's future strategy toward Iran's nuclear issue.

A presidential statement needs consensus among the 15 council members while a resolution requires a minimum of nine votes and no veto from any of the five permanent members.

Source: Xinhua