The stakes were even higher this time around, given the developing nuclear crises concerning both Iran and North Korea, they added.

Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh upset the opening session when he said that an agenda item reaffirming the need for full compliance with the treaty was not "appropriate," according to a diplomat summarising the debate.

Soltanieh insisted the wording from 2005's agenda covering compliance to the NPT should not be modified for the next review meeting's agenda.

"This item could create disputes by creating too much focus on one country. We don't want a direction given," Soltanieh said.

The meeting's chairman, Japanese ambassador Yukiya Amano, told AFP that he was surprised by the Iranian move: "I knew Iran had some problems but this is something new ... Compliance has been an issue in the NPT for a long time."

A diplomat said Iran's position showed it wanted to block a full debate on compliance.

The NPT, which went into effect at the height of the Cold War in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, is reviewed every five years. The last such meeting in 2005 failed to resolve any key questions, with non-aligned countries and nuclear powers bickering over an agenda.

The Vienna meeting is the first of a series of preparatory sessions ahead of the next overall review in 2010, and it is being held as Iran is being subjected to UN sanctions for refusing to stop uranium enrichment.

Western powers say they fear Iran is developing a nuclear arsenal, but Tehran denies this and says its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate electricity.

German ambassador Ruediger Luedeking, speaking on behalf of the EU presidency, said a debate on procedure would be "unproductive and should not stand in the way of a substantial discussion" on the problems with the NPT.

One diplomat said Arab nations, which normally back Iran at NPT discussions, were "not happy because there is a reference (they like) to resolutions on the Middle East (a call for a nuclear-free-zone there) in the agenda."

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik had opened the meeting by saying: "Let us not mince words, the NPT is in a serious crisis today."

Another diplomat noted that the Vienna meeting had to have agreement on the agenda by mid-Wednesday, according to its rules.

North Korea's nuclear programme -- which, unlike Iran, has actually produced atomic bombs -- was also a source of concern. Negotiations to dismantle its operations have stalled.

The United States called Monday for cracking down on nations that withdraw from the NPT, as North Korea did.

"It is important ... for us to make such withdrawal more unattractive before any other State Party violator is tempted to follow such a course," US head of delegation Christopher Ford said.

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