They said President George W. Bush returned from his European trip last week with proposals from US allies for breaking the impasse and bringing Washington closer into the negotiation process.

"We support the efforts by the European three to get Iran to abandon any nuclear weapons," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters, in a reference to the talks led by Britain, France and Germany.

"The president is considering ideas that were discussed last week in Europe for moving forward on our efforts to get Iran to end its pursuit of nuclear weapons," McClellan said.

Officials declined to discuss details but McClellan said the possibility of Tehran's membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) was "one of the ideas that the Europeans have talked publicly about."

The Washington Post reported Monday the allies could also offer Iran help in procuring spare parts to refurbish its aging fleet of passenger airliners if it would renounce any bid to develop nuclear bombs.

The Post said consideration of the overtures came after Bush's talks with German and French leaders last week and a meeting with key cabinet members and Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday.

McClellan said no decision had been made on any US involvement, which would represent a significant turnaround from Washington's initial hands-off attitude and scepticism about the European initiative.

But he did confirm the ideas were raised at a National Security Council (NSC) meeting on Friday. "We're thinking through this and talking about it and when we reach any decision we will have more to say," he said.

The State Department also said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would likely hold further talks on the matter with her European counterparts in London, where she is attending a conference Tuesday on the Middle East.

The US deliberations came as the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, was holding its quartely meeting in Vienna with Iran one of the hottest topics.

The United States had been pushing the IAEA to bring Tehran before the UN Security Council. But State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Iran would not be an agenda item for the current Vienna gathering.

"At this meeting there's a consensus view that we don't have the kind of information, and were not at the stage in dealing with Iran, that we want to have that conversation," Ereli said.

The US posture in the nuclear talks had produced some friction between the Americans and the Europeans, who wanted more involvement from Washington and less sabre-rattling about the possible use of force against Iran.

But McClellan sounded more upbeat about the process Monday, saying Iran was providing more access and information to the IAEA while its negotiations with the Europeans were "moving forward."

Ereli also raised the possibility of US talks with the Iranians despite a quarter-century break in relations sparked by the 1979 seizure of hostages at the US embassy in Tehran.

"We've always said that on given issues, in given circumstances, we leave open the possibility of talking to Iran if it addresses those issues and if it serves our interests and if the president thinks it's the right thing to do."

Iran figured in the discussions during last Thursday's summit between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Bush, who praised the Kremlin chief's understanding of the need for watchfulness with Tehran.

So the White House reacted cautiously Monday to the agreement signed the day before to launch late next year the first Iranian nuclear plant built by the Russians in the southern city of Bushehr.

"We're not aware of all the details. We're waiting to lean more about those details," McClellan said.

But he added that "the Russians previously assured us that no fuel would be delivered until Iran resolves the question regarding compliance with its international obligations and that any spent fuel must be returned to Russia."

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