Heavy water plant in Arak, Iran

A senior European Union official says he will meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator on Saturday.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Thursday that he will meet with Iran's Ali Larijani, but Solana did not say where the talks will take place.

The meeting will be the first between the two since Iran defied an August 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment.

The two men were expected to meet Wednesday, but Iran postponed the meeting.  

In Berlin, representatives from world powers are meeting Thursday to discuss their reaction to Iran's refusal to suspend enrichment activities.

Diplomats from the U.S., France, Britain, China and Russia, plus Germany are attending the talks.

The United States has said it expects Security Council members to honor a decision to sanction Iran for disregarding the August 31 deadline.

Russia and China have been reluctant to punish Iran.

Both nations have been calling for negotiations to resolve the issue. 

Iran says it is ready for negotiations, but will not halt uranium enrichment, which it says is for peaceful uses.

In Washington, a senior U.S. official on arms control said the time has come to impose sanctions.  He said the U.S. and the international community cannot allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.