"We don't know the specific details of the agreement," spokesman Scott McClellan said of the agreement between Iran and Britain, France and Germany. "We'll have more to say once we have the opportunity to learn more."

"We are staying in touch with our European friends, the British and French and Germans," he said. "We always stay in close contact with them. And now we are in the process of trying to find out more specific details."

Asked how the United States could be in close contact with the Europeans yet lack details of the agreement, McClellan bristled, and said: "We like to have the full details before us before we go out and make comments about it."

In an 11th-hour deal with Britain, France and Germany struck late Sunday, Tehran agreed to freeze uranium enrichment-related activities to ease fears its fuel cycle work could be diverted to make an atomic bomb.

The suspension was demanded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, in September but initially dismissed by Iran as "illegal" and "unacceptable".

"It's very clear what our views are. Iran needs to fully comply with its obligation. Iran needs to suspend all its enrichment and reprocessing activities. Iran needs to adhere to the additional protocol. And Iran needs to fully comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency," said McClellan.

"And I think these are discussions that the Europeans were having with Iran and they've had quite some time to comply," the spokesman told reporters.

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