AFP: The United States and five other powers meeting here Friday are "committed to exploring possible further" sanctions against Iran to halt its sensitive nuclear work, the State Department said.
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States and five other powers meeting here Friday are "committed to exploring possible further" sanctions against Iran to halt its sensitive nuclear work, the State Department said.
The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany "remain committed to exploring possible further measures on the second track," which concerns UN Security Council resolutions, a department statement said.
The foreign affairs political directors from the so-called P5-plus-one, the permanent UN Security Council members and Germany met in Washington to review developments from their last meeting on July 19.
The gathering was also to help prepare for a meeting next week of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her five counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to the statement read by a State Department spokesman.
The political directors from the various foreign ministries and the State Department "reaffirmed their collective commitment to the dual-track strategy" of offering incentives to Iran if it cooperates or punishment if it does not.
Apart from exploring possible further sanctions, the six also agreed they would "continue to encourage Iran to accept the generous offer of incentives that was presented to Iran in June."
They also discussed the concerns raised in the September 15 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report and "strongly urge Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA's investigation," the statement said.
The IAEA, the UN's atomic watchdog, said Iran had not frozen uranium enrichment activities as instructed by the United Nations.
