US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday urged Iran to be constructive at talks on its controversial nuclear programme due to take place with world powers in Geneva next week.

"We hope that you will come to it, as we will, in good faith and prepared to engage constructively on your nuclear programme," Clinton said to an Iranian delegation in Bahrain headed by its Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

After months of stalling, the Islamic republic will resume talks in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday with the P5+1 grouping of UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany.

"In Geneva next week, the P5+1 will meet with representatives from your nation, the first such meeting since October of last year," Clinton said at the opening of the annual Manama Dialogue security conference.

The Security Council has called on Iran in six resolutions -- four of which impose sanctions -- to halt its controversial atomic work, as part of the international community suspects Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

Tehran denies the charge, insisting that its nuclear programme is solely aimed at peaceful ends and energy production.

"I am pleased to have this opportunity for your government and mine to gather here with representatives from other nations to discuss problems of mutual concern and interest," Clinton told Iran's delegation to the conference.

Mottaki did not look in Clinton's direction during her speech and did not join in the applause at the end.

"Nearly two years ago, President (Barack) Obama extended your government a sincere offer of dialogue. We are still committed to this offer," the secretary of state said.

"We continue to make this offer of engagement with respect for your sovereignty and with regard for your interests, but also with an ironclad commitment to defending global security and the world's interests in a peaceful and prosperous Gulf region."

Clinton acknowledged that Iran has "the right to a peaceful nuclear programme" but said Tehran must "fully address the world's concerns about your nuclear activities."

"We urge you to make that choice for your people, your interests, and our shared security. We urge you to restore the confidence of the international community and live up to your obligations."

Earlier, she told reporters that Washington's concerns over Tehran's suspected atomic weapons programme are shared by Iran's neighbours, just as people in northeast Asia are worried about North Korea's activities.

"There is no debate in the international community, and perhaps the Iranians will engage seriously... on what is a concern shared by nations on every continent, but most particularly right here in the region," Clinton said of the Geneva talks.

"Because obviously if you're the neighbour of a country that is pursuing nuclear weapons, that is viewed in a much more threatening way than if you're a concerned country many thousands of miles away."

The conference organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies draws prime ministers, defence ministers, military officials, intelligence chiefs and private sector heads from across the region.

The meeting comes as US diplomacy reels amid a storm of anger from foreign governments scrutinised in State Department cables published by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

Some of the most prominent headlines highlighted widespread fears among Arab states in the Gulf about Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme and their calls to thwart it.

Perhaps most famously, Saudi King Abdullah was quoted in one cable saying the United States should "cut off the head of the snake."

And Bahrain's King Hamad told US General David Petraeus the Iranian "programme must be stopped... The danger of letting it go on is greater than the danger of stopping it.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Clinton, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa declined to comment on the details of that cable but reiterated his country's views.

"We do believe every country in the Middle East has a right to nuclear power for a peaceful use. We say it publicly; we say it privately," he said.

Iran has downplayed the WikiLeaks disclosures, saying they will not affect relations with its neighbours and has adopted a tough and uncompromising stance ahead of Geneva talks.

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