(GENEVA) - The European Union will continue to use both negotiations and United Nations sanctions to encourage Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities, the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Wednesday.

"With Iran, we have a dual strategy: on the one hand negotiations -- I was in Tehran a few days ago to present a new document -- and at the same time action through the United Nations," Solana told journalists on the sidelines of a disarmament conference in Geneva.

"The two things will run in parallel. Once we are in a position to begin serious negotiations, we will stick with negotiations," he added.

EU nations on Monday agreed new sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme, notably banning the country's largest bank, Bank Melli, from operating in Europe. The sanctions also added 20 individuals and 15 organisations to the EU's blacklists imposing visa bans and asset freezes.

The EU move, along with a string of UN sanctions against Iran adopted since 2006, aims at persuading it to suspend its uranium enrichment activities, which the international community fears are part of a nuclear weapons programme.

The Iranian authorities indicated Tuesday that they would continue to examine an offer of economic cooperation presented by Solana during his visit earlier this month.

Tehran insists it wants atomic energy only for a growing population whose fossil fuels will eventually run out.

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