Luxembourg  - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday called on the international community to impose "tough sanctions" on Iran to stop it from developing its nuclear programme.

Addressing reporters after a meeting in Luxembourg with European Union officials, Lieberman described Iran as more dangerous than North Korea and "a factor of instability" for the Middle East and beyond.

"The Iranian nuclear programme could lead us to a crazy nuclear arms race in all of our region. The international community must stop Iran's nuclear programme with tough sanctions," Lieberman said.

But Israel's hawkish foreign minister declined to comment on reports of violence erupting at a post-election rally in Iran, saying these were internal matters.

Lieberman was in Luxembourg for regular talks with officials from the EU, which is Israel's main trading partner.

The EU has is unwilling to impose sanctions on Iran, with Germany, Italy and other heavyweights preferring to reach a solution through dialogue instead.

"It remains a priority for the EU that Iran engages with the concerns of the world community, above all on the issue of Iran's nuclear programme," EU foreign ministers said in a statement issued after earlier talks in Luxembourg.

During their meeting, the EU ministers also called Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's acceptance of the two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict a small step in the right direction.

But they also urged the Israeli government to "immediately end settlement activities" and expressed concern at Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians have no army, be denied the power to sign treaties with Israel's enemies such as Syria and Iran, and recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.

Lieberman said his government supported US President Barack Obama's vision of regional peace through bilateral talks between all of the sides involved and stressed that his country was ready to sit with the Palestinians and the Syrians "immediately, without preconditions."

A year ago, EU foreign ministers agreed in principle to strengthen their ties with Israel in a so-called "upgrade" on issues such as trade, travel and educational exchanges.

But they quietly sidelined that decision following Israel's December assault on the Gaza Strip.

During the EU talks that preceded Monday evening's meeting with Lieberman, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said that Netanyahu's speech was not enough on its own to justify implementing the upgrade. (dpa)