The European Union Thursday offered to resume face-to-face talks with Iran over its nuclear activities, "without pre-conditions," a spokeswoman for foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said.

The EU is "open to sitting down with Iran --obviously without any pre-conditions," Maja Kocijancic said, with the international community in agreement now that levels of uranium enrichment are "high enough to cause concern."

In a statement released by Ashton overnight, in the name of the so-called "5+1" grouping of nuclear powers the U.K., China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S., she said the International Atomic Energy Agency had set out "increasing concern about the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program."

However, despite repeated prodding seeking to persuade Iran to cooperate with inspections on potential military uses, there had been no progress.

"We deeply regret that Iran has failed to respond in kind" to various proposals put across by these countries, Ashton said.

She said that a "twin-track" of negotiations and sanctions was the preferred way forward.

Iran this month said it was ready to give the IAEA "full supervision" of its nuclear program for five years if sanctions are lifted, as it alleged a rise in "sabotage" of its controversial work.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague Wednesday told Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi there were "important areas of disagreement," during a meeting in New York .

The British ministry stressed that it respected Iran 's right to civil nuclear power, but that Iran "had not persuaded the international community that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes."

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