European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Finland, want further dialogue with Iran rather than sanctions after Tehran defied Thursday's UN deadline to stop work that the West fears could be a prelude to making a nuclear bomb, officials said.

At a two-day informal meeting near Finland's border with Russia, the EU ministers were expected to seek fresh talks despite US pressure for a rapid move to impose sanctions.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran believes the only possible way to achieve fair and acceptable results for all parties is through negotiations and by respecting Iran's legitimate rights," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.

"Iran's activities are transparent, public and have peaceful aims far away from any ambiguities and it (the issue) can be easily solved through negotiations," he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

The UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Thursday that Tehran had failed to meet an August 31 deadline to halt uranium enrichment.

The West accuses Iran of seeking to build atomic bombs, a charge Iran denies, saying its nuclear program is designed to produce electricity.

The IAEA report also said Iran had recently resumed enriching small amounts of uranium and said Iran's lack of cooperation had blocked the UN atomic watchdog's probes.

Asefi said the report showed Iran had met its commitments under international regulations, including the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and also showed Iran's "extensive cooperation" with the IAEA.