"The international community should count on Iran, not isolate it," Annan said in an interview with El Pais in Qatar, which was published on Tuesday.

Annan spoke to El Pais after a weekend visit to Tehran as part of a Middle Eastern tour to shore up the ceasefire that ended fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

"The general perception is that Iran is acting on its own, giving money to Hezbollah. In my conversations in Tehran, I asked the Iranians to work with other countries in reconstruction. They accepted my request, which is a very helpful attitude," Annan said.

Iran's stand-off with Western powers over its nuclear program can only be resolved via negotiation, he said.

"The main thing is we have to avoid confrontation. This is an issue, which requires patience and perseverance. The viable solution is negotiation," he said.

The United States says Iran, which failed to meet a Security Council deadline to stop enriching uranium, is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

"The Iranians assured me that they are not seeking nuclear weapons and their intentions are peaceful. Nonetheless, they have to find a way of reassuring the world and guaranteeing that these really are their intentions," Annan said.

In the interview, he also called on Israel to make moves to secure peace in Lebanon.

"Israel should withdraw, without needing to wait for the deployment of the 15,000 (international troops) to be complete. Also, mutual trust has to be created, by, for example, Israel lifting its blockade on Lebanon," Annan said.

Meanwhile, the European Union's foreign policy chief and Iran's senior nuclear negotiator tentatively agreed to meet Wednesday in a last-ditch attempt to bridge differences over Tehran's atomic program, UN and European officials said.

The officials, who agreed to share confidential information about the meeting with The Associated Press only if their names weren't used, stressed that the date and venue of the talks could still change.

While word leaked last week that Iranian chief negotiator Ali Larijani agreed to meet with top EU envoy Javier Solana to discuss ways to solve the impasse, details of the talks were being officially kept secret in an apparent attempt not to jeopardize any chance of their success.

Asked to confirm the reports, Cristina Gallach, the spokeswoman for Solana, would only say that "the lines of communications are being kept open" between the two sides.