AFP: The five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will meet to discuss Iran's nuclear program, suspected by the West of being a bid to aquire a nuclear bomb.
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will meet to discuss Iran's nuclear program, suspected by the West of being a bid to aquire a nuclear bomb.
The US State Department said on Tuesday that the six — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — would each send a senior foreign ministry diplomat to the meeting, which will take place in London.
"It's obviously to chart the way forward in terms of dealing with Iran's nuclear program," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
The meeting would take place at the level of political directors, traditionally the third highest ranking official at a foreign ministry.
Last month the six declared they were ready to engage in direct dialogue with Iran, about its controversial nuclear program. Iran has repeatedly denied that it intends to build a nuclear bomb.
But six years of probes by the IAEA — a multilateral nuclear watchdog — have been unable to confirm whether the program is peaceful.
During that time Europe and the United States have tried to halt the Iranian program with a mixture of sanctions and the prospective of important trade breaks and improved ties with Washington.
