McCormack said the negotiators for the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany would have to report back to their capitals and there would likely be more follow-up meetings.

He said the assessment came from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after she spoke to Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, the US point man on the Iranian issue who is currently in London.

"What I have heard is that there has been great progress" in nailing down a package of carrots and sticks for Iran to renounce its suspected efforts to build a nuclear bomb, McCormack said.

"I don't think you can say at this point that you have closure on every single issue, but it is coming into form both on the incentive side and the disincentive side."

"I expect there would probably be follow-on meetings to London after people in the capitals have a chance to look at the package and look at the various issues that are outstanding," the spokesman said.

He would not discuss details of the closed-door meeting in London of Burns and the political directors from the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.

The talks had been shrouded in secrecy as the powers thrashed out a new attempt to end a standoff over an Iranian nuclear program that Tehran insists is civilian but Washington suspects has military purposes.

The United States has been pushing for UN sanctions to force the Iranians to halt their uranium enrichment activities but has been stymied by opposition from veto-wielding Russia and China.

Britain, France and Germany, the so-called EU-3, were hoping to coax Iran into suspending uranium enrichment work in exchange for a package of trade and technology incentives.

However, they want Russia and China to join in UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, if Iran does not agree, according to a draft proposal seen by AFP.

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett had earlier played down chances for a breakthrough at Wednesday's meeting.

"I think it will be a key meeting today, but I suspect it won't be the final meeting," she told reporters.

The United States has come under increasing pressure to take a direct role in the negotiations with Iran, which has not had diplomatic relations with the Americans in 26 years.

Washington has resisted but appeared to open the door a crack on Wednesday, with White House spokesman Tony Snow saying there would be no direct talks with Tehran unless it suspended uranium enrichment.

"Iran has to take that fundamental step when it comes to enriching and reprocessing uranium -- they've got to suspend all activities," Snow told reporters.

Without such a step, he said, there will be "no change in the administration's posture and the president's posture when it comes to one-on-one negotiations" over Tehran's nuclear program.

He spoke as Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was to confer with Rice amid speculation he was bearing a renewed offer from Iran of direct discussions on the nuclear issue.

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