The joint statement by Britain, France and Germany plus the US, China and Russia said the six countries agreed that the UN nuclear watchdog "should report to the Security Council its decision on the steps required of Iran."
But they also "agreed that the Security Council should await the (International Atomic Energy Agency's) report to the March meeting of the IAEA board... before deciding to take action to reinforce the authority of the IAEA process," the statement said.
The Security Council can issue warnings and impose sanctions as part of a range of punitive measures in its role as an enforcement body, unlike the IAEA which has no such powers and has been investigating the Iranian nuclear program for three years.
Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate electricity, but Europe and the US believe it may be a cover for developing atomic weapons.
A senior US state department official said that for the first time in the Iranian nuclear crisis all permanent members of the UN Security Council are sending exactly the same message to Iran.
Russia has in the past opposed taking Iran to the Security Council, as it seeks a diplomatic solution to protect its extensive trade and security interests in Iran.
"This has never happened in the history of the Iranian crisis," the official said of the unity between the permanent member countries.
He said the US goal was to get the Iranian nuclear dossier to the Security Council, which has enforcement powers unlike the IAEA.
"In diplomacy you take it one step at a time. The real issue was getting to the Security Council," the official said.
The joint statement also "called on Iran to restore in full the suspension of enrichment-related activity, including R & D under the supervision of the IAEA."
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste Blazy said he and his colleagues "wished that a firm message from the international community be sent in a united fashion to the Iranian authorities, who must understand that they must suspend nuclear activities."
"The diplomatic route, which is the better way to proceed, can then resume," Douste-Blazy told French reporters in London after the four-hour meeting where, according to diplomatic sources, Russia proved the most reluctant to take firm action.