No statement was issued after the meeting, but foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev said earlier that both Israel and the United States would push for more international sanctions on Iran.

"Israel supports a hardening of sanctions already imposed" on the Islamic republic, Regev said. "Diplomacy must be firm and speak with one voice in order to succeed.

"The Tehran regime must understand that business as usual cannot continue while it is pursuing its nuclear programme."

The UN Security Council has already slapped two sets of sanctions on Iran over its atomic drive and is expected to press a third if Tehran does not meet international demands to halt uranium enrichment, a key part of the nuclear process.

Before arriving in Israel, Levey, who is the US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, told AFP that Washington believes sanctions can sway Tehran towards abandoning its current defiant stand.

The US Treasury has already slapped sanctions on more than a dozen Iranian companies linked to its nuclear, energy and banking operations.

Both the West and Israel fear that Iran is seeking to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme. Tehran says its programme is peaceful and has repeatedly refused to yield to the pressure.

Israel, widely considered the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, considers Iran its arch-enemy following repeated remarks by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map.

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