London hosts Iran talks

Officials from the EU-3, China, Russia and the US are meeting in London to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme.

The talks on Friday come after the EU said it has failed to convince Tehran to stop enriching uranium.

"The time of negotiations of course is not infinite," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Thursday.

Solana has held a series of meetings with senior Iranian officials in recent weeks, but he said little progress has been made.

Washington and London have stepped up their calls for targeted sanctions against Iran.

"What we expect the political directors will do is take account and take stock of the situation and review where this process is and what our next steps might be," a US state department official told reporters.

He reiterated the US view that talks between Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and Solana were "drawing to an end" and the next step was agreeing on UN sanctions against Iran.

Britain's UN ambassador said he expected the UN Security Council to begin discussing a resolution next week that could impose sanctions on Iran.

"I expect the Iranian dossier to re-emerge in New York in the course of next week," Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry told reporters.

But agreeing punitive measures in the security council will not be easy as Russia and China contiue to favour  diplomacy.

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