The conservative Shiite Muslim government in Tehran is in fact posturing for its presidential elections next month, as well as skillfully using brinksmanship to advance its national interests, they say.

But that is as far as it goes, at least for now.

The Iranians do not want to force the EU to haul them before the United Nations Security Council in New York, where they risk harsh sanctions in the short run and even US-backed military action in the longer term, they said.

Iran knows what it is up against, said Gary Samore, an Iran expert at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).

"I think Iran's position is weaker now because the Western allies are working in much closer consort" than they were before US President George W. Bush was re-elected last November, Samore told AFP.

"That argues in favor of Iran continuing to delay (resuming the nuclear program) until they feel they're in a stronger position and they can afford to walk away from the negotiations with the EU-3 with less danger," he said.

Samore added that the Iranians, though skilled negotiators, are nonetheless "very worried about" the risk of military action.

The EU-3 are foreign ministers Jack Straw of Britain, Michel Barnier of France and Joschka Fischer of Germany, who may meet with the Iranians in Geneva on Wednesday, a day after a lower-level meeting in Brussels, diplomats say.

The EU-3 called an emergency meeting with Iran after Tehran announced it would resume uranium conversion work, a move that would violate the November accord on freezing nuclear fuel processing and opening long-term talks.

Iran has agreed to hold off from resuming uranium conversion -- a precursor to the ultra-sensitive enrichment process which has prompted fears of a secret weapons program -- pending this week's talks.

But several Iranian officials said they held out little hope of reaching an agreement with the EU-3, saying the Europeans are hostage to a hardline US position.

Ali Ansari, an analyst at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, said the Iranian government had to appear tough before the elections.

"Basically, I don't think the Iranians are going ahead with their uranium enrichment as yet. I think they'll wait, then the Europeans will say: 'Let's wait till your elections are over.'"

Ansari suggested it was a "managed crisis" to promote moderate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's bid for president, a job he held once before, Ansari said.

Andrew Koch, the Washington bureau chief for Jane's Defence Weekly, said the Iranians were "not nearly as close" to breaking off the negotiations or resuming the nuclear program as their public statements might suggest.

Nor did he share the view of US hardliners who believe the Iranians have taken the decision to build nuclear weapons. Instead, he believes the Iranians are merely pushing towards having a nuclear weapons capability.

"The Iranians want to be able to sit on the fence, and they want the ability to have the option on short notice to cross that line (to build weapons) if there is ever a real crisis," Koch said.

"But I don't believe they've come anywhere close to crossing that line."

The Europeans, who believe Iran wants a nuclear capability, fear that going the Security Council route would isolate the Iranians and force their hand on building weapons, he added.

Hardliners in the US administration believe Iran took the decision to build weapons a long time ago and therefore should be isolated, he added.

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