The international community is not seeking a confrontation with Iran over its nuclear programme, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Monday, noting that talks with Tehran were still possible.

Iran on Sunday ended snap U.N. checks of its nuclear sites and said it was resuming uranium enrichment, a day after being reported to the Security Council over suspicions it is building nuclear weapons.

Douste-Blazy urged Tehran to cooperate with the international community.

"We tell them: There is still time to negotiate. But suspend sensitive nuclear activities," he told France Inter radio.

"We must make people understand that the international community's goal is not punitive, it is only political. We are not looking for any confrontation, to the contrary, it's negotiations we are looking for," he said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency voted on Saturday to report Iran to the Security Council but the top U.N. body will take no action until an IAEA report is delivered in March.

The Security Council has the power to impose political and economic sanctions but there are divisions among its five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- about how to deal with Tehran.

"It is time (for Iran) to come back to reason, because if not, it's obviously the Security Council and a possible escalation," Douste-Blazy said.

Iran says it wants nuclear technology to generate electricity, not make bombs as some Western countries allege.

PHOTO CAPTION

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy is seen in Ankara, February 2, 2006. (Reuters)