The European Union is preparing new restrictive measures against Iran over its nuclear activities, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told a press conference in Washington on Monday after talks with US President Barack Obama in the framework of the annual EU-US summit.
"On Iran, we need to step up pressure,”"Van Rompuy said without elaborating.
EU Foreign Ministers are expected to agree on such measures against Tehran at a meeting later this week in Brussels.
In a joint statement issued after the Washington meeting, the United States and the European Union said they shared "deep concern" about the possible military dimensions of Tehran's nuclear pursuits after the publication of the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General’s report.
"We stress our determination to ensure that Iran complies with its obligations, including abiding by United Nations Security Council resolutions, and to cooperate fully with the IAEA to address the international community’s serious concerns over the nature of its nuclear programme", the statement read.
"We reaffirm our commitment to work toward a diplomatic solution, implement UN Security Council Resolution 1929 (2010) and other relevant Security Council Resolutions, and consider additional measures given Iran’s continued failure to abide by its international obligations," it said.
The US-EU joint statement also noted a recent plot by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard to assassinate the Saudi envoy to Washington, and stressed "our determination to ensure the perpetrators and their accomplices are held to account."
In their joint statement the United States and the European Union also called on the Syrian government "to end violence immediately".
"We call on the Syrian government to end violence immediately, permit the immediate entry of human rights observers and international journalists, and allow for a peaceful and democratic transition," they said.
And they called on Israel and the Palestinians to engage actively in direct negotiations, reaffirming the Mideast Quartet Statement adopted in New York in September which, they said, provides a "framework" for such negotiations.