US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was speaking in the Jordanian capital Amman after meeting King Abdullah, has focused his visit heavily on Iran, warning the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program.

Gates insisted that Tehran risked facing harsher sanctions unless it responded to offers of dialog by the US.

"What is clear is if the engagement process is not successful, the United States is prepared to press significant additional sanctions that would be non-incremental," he said Monday.

Gates said the US would "try to get international support for a much tougher position," but reiterated that a diplomatic solution to the standoff was the preferred path.

"Our hopes still remain that Iran will respond to the president's outstretched hand in a positive way, but we will see," he added.

Earlier Monday, Gates was in Israel for a series of meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, where he said Washington was hoping Tehran would respond to US overtures in the coming months.

"The president is certainly anticipating or hoping for some kind of a response this fall, perhaps by the time of the UN General Assembly (in September)," Gates said earlier in Jerusalem.

Delayed response

But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said from Brussels on Monday that ongoing political uncertainty in Iran over last month's controversial presidential election could put on hold any response Tehran has to the US' offer of talks.

"I don't think at this time there is going to be a reply to the offer made late April,” he said, referring to calls in April by the five permanent UN Security Council members - the US, Russia, China, France and the UK - plus Germany, who are involved in talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

"I don't expect a response rapidly, I don't see it until the situation settles," he said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Iran meanwhile used Monday's focus on its nascent nuclear program to reiterate that its uranium enrichment activities were for civilian purposes, and that it had a right to such technology. It added that nuclear weapons "have no place in our defense structure."

But Iran's nuclear activities are still great cause for concern in Israel, which regards Tehran' enrichment program as the biggest security threat to the country in its 60-year history.

"Israel remains in its basic position that no options should be removed from the table, despite the fact that at this stage a priority should be given still to diplomacy and sanctions," the Israeli Defense Minister said Monday.

Middle East-wide solution

Also touring the Middle East is US President Barack Obama's special envoy to the region, George Mitchell, who is seeking to convince Israel it should halt settlement activities in areas the Palestinians hope to use for a future state.

As part of those efforts, the US is also demanding that Israel remove some two dozen tiny settlement outposts in the West Bank.

Mitchell also said middle ground had to be found by all Middle Eastern states to help secure a lasting peace.

"For the Arab states, that means meaningful steps toward normalizing relations with Israel," he said after talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem on Monday. "For the Palestinians, it means expanding and improving their security forces, to take action against incitement"

"For Israel, that means making possible improved access and movement and economic growth for Palestinians…and dealing with difficult issues like settlement and outposts."

Mitchell was to fly to the occupied West Bank later Monday for talks with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, before meeting the Israeli prime minister on Tuesday.

"In an effort to overcome a focus on the past, we call for steps by Arab states to do what they can to fulfill the promise of an Arab peace initiative,” said Mitchell, who met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak earlier Monday.

dfm/Reuters/AFP/dpa

Editor: Neil King