WASHINGTON: US and Israeli defence chiefs held talks in Washington yesterday that the Pentagon said were focused on diplomatic efforts to impose “robust” sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak arrived for talks in Washington with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates amid rising international tension over Iran’s uranium enrichment work.

Before the meeting got under way, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said both sides had agreed the time had come to tighten sanctions on Iran as Tehran had “spurned” diplomatic efforts so far.

“The US shares many of Israel’s concerns on the issue and Iran’s failure to respond to a year of sustained and genuine outreach has left the international community no choice but to pursue a robust regime of sanctions,” Morrell said. He said the Israelis had been “understanding, if not outright supportive” of President Barack Obama’s previous diplomatic overtures to Iran. “And obviously we have come to a point where those efforts, that outstretched hand, has not been reciprocated — in fact, it’s been largely spurned.” The Obama administration has embarked on an intense diplomatic push to rally support for fresh UN sanctions against Iran, but Morrell said Washington remained open to dialogue if Tehran changed its stance.

“We keep that door open to engagement. So just because we’re going down the pressure track doesn’t mean the engagement track is closed off.” US and Israeli officials have refused to rule out military action against Iran, but the Obama administration has stressed it is presently committed to a diplomatic strategy designed to pile pressure on Tehran. Gates and the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, have both expressed deep reservations about resorting to military force to counter Iran’s nuclear drive, saying it would only delay the program.

Israel has called for tough international sanctions on Iran’s energy sector to persuade Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment efforts, which Israel and the West suspect is aimed at building an atomic weapon.

The talks between Gates and Barak were also expected to touch on cooperation on missile defence systems and the Middle East peace process, including US efforts to train Palestinian Authority security forces, officials said.