Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterparts from the United Nations Security Council converged on Berlin today to try and forge a consensus on pressuring Iran to halt its nuclear program.

Foreign ministers of the permanent members of the Security Council -- the U.S., U.K., France, China and Russia -- plus Germany meet to try and bridge their differences on a possible new round of sanctions over Iran's refusal to stop uranium enrichment. A joint press conference is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Attempts by President George W. Bush's administration to rally support for tighter sanctions faltered after a U.S. intelligence assessment released Dec. 3 concluded that Iran suspended its atomic weapons program in 2003.

``Much of the momentum was lost when the National Intelligence Estimate came out,'' Heinrich Matthee, an analyst with London-based Control Risks, said in an interview. ``I think they will find it difficult to regain the momentum soon.''

China and Russia, both veto-wielding Security Council members, have so far resisted further penalties against the government in Tehran, which insists its nuclear program is to produce electricity. The U.S. says Iran still poses a threat, a stance echoed by its European allies.

The U.S. intelligence report ``absolutely doesn't say there's no threat from Iran and isn't a signal for letting down our guard,'' German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin on Jan. 15.

`Without a Doubt'

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said yesterday that all participants in the meeting will ``without a doubt'' sign a draft text on sanctions at today's meeting.

``We still have to define the reach of the text and the wording,'' he told reporters in Paris. The text may ``not be really stunning,'' he said. The European Union and the U.S. separately are working on increased financial sanctions against Iran, he said, adding that Russia and China may not agree to the additional measures.

``China believes in dialogue and a diplomatic solution to the dispute,'' Jiang Yu, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said during a regular briefing in Beijing today. ``We also believe any UN Security Council action must be constructive and lead us to a peaceful solution.''

Asked in Brussels yesterday whether the discussions will cover further sanctions against Iran, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who will also attend today's meeting, said: ``We will discuss everything.''

Iran pledged to provide the UN International Atomic Energy Agency with all remaining information on the country's past nuclear programs within four weeks, after IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei met with the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Jan. 13.

Solana said he is unsure whether he will meet Saeed Jalili, Iran's nuclear negotiator, who will be in Brussels tomorrow to testify to a European Parliament committee.

``He has made very clear in all the preparatory meetings that the topic he wants to deal with is not the nuclear issue and I have to see if that is a real use of time for me,'' Solana said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 22, 2008 06:10 EST