"I hope it will be possible to get the Americans on board on diplomacy," Schroeder told the European affairs committee of the German parliament.

He added that "we really do not need" military action against Tehran while the situation in the broader Middle East, particularly in neighboring Iraq, remains precarious.

Germany and fellow EU powerhouses Britain and France are in the midst of crucial talks with Tehran aimed at finding a long-term solution to the nuclear crisis with Iran that would ease international concerns.

US President George W. Bush said last week he could not rule out resorting to military action if Iran could not be persuaded to abandon a nuclear energy program which Washington believes is a cover for developing a bomb.

Iran vehemently denies that it is developing nuclear weapons.

On a visit to Washington Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer urged closer cooperation between the United States and its European allies in efforts to negotiate a solution to the dispute.

"We have to make progress in the diplomatic efforts," Fischer told reporters before meeting with outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell and his designated successor Condoleezza Rice.

Fischer added that the Europeans and the Americans "are not very far apart" on the danger that a nuclear-armed Iran would represent, and he appeared to call for greater US involvement in dissuasive efforts.

Germany vocally opposed the US-led war in Iraq, sparking a major rift in transatlantic relations that is only gradually healing. US President George W. Bush is to visit the country next month as part of a fence-mending trip to Europe.

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