US, world powers to hold talks on Iran next week

AFP: The United States and five other world powers which are seeking to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions will hold talks next week on the sidelines of the the UN General Assembly, officials said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States and five other world powers which are seeking to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions will hold talks next week on the sidelines of the the UN General Assembly, officials said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to join her counterparts from Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany at a meeting next Wednesday in New York, Clinton’s spokesman Philip Crowley said.

“We would anticipate a leader at the ministerial level, plus the political directors,” Crowley told reporters.

He said attending the meeting will be William Burns, the US undersecretary for political affairs, and his counterparts from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, a grouping known as the P5-plus-one.

In June, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, which the West fears masks a drive to build a nuclear bomb. Iran denies the charge.

Amid a wave of new international concern over Iran’s activities, the United States, Britain and France said Wednesday that more countries must report on how they are implementing the four rounds of sanctions.