"We deeply regret that Iran, as seen in the latest report by the director general of the IAEA to the UN Security Council, has further expanded its enrichment activities," they said in a joint statement, referring to the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.

"If Iran continues to refuse to heed the call of the Security Council, we will support further appropriate measures, as agreed in Resolution 1747," they said, referring to a measure passed in March tightening sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.

The ministers said they were "deeply concerned" by Iran's nuclear activities and expressed their "shared duty" to find a solution to the conflict with Tehran.

They called on Tehran to play a "responsible and constructive role" in the Middle East, particularly in bringing about a two-state solution for the Palestinians and Israel and stability in Iraq.

"We condemn the Iranian government's threats against Israel and the repeated denial of the Holocaust by members of the Iranian government," the ministers said.

The G8 meeting was aimed at preparing for next week's summit hosted by the G8 current president, Germany, in Heiligendamm on the Baltic coast.

The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States will attend the summit.

Russia has previously resisted urging from the West, which suspects Iran of harbouring a covert nuclear weapons program, to increase pressure on Tehran to open its civilian nuclear programme to closer scrutiny.

But Russia's close cooperation with Iran's civilian nuclear programme has weakened in recent months amid a financing spat that has delayed Russia's construction of Iran's first nuclear power station.

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