NY meeting on Iran yields no results

A meeting between representatives of six world powers on the possibility of imposing new sanctions against Iran has ended in New York without any results.

The envoys, who were meeting for the fifth time in recent weeks to discuss sanctions against Iran, have refused to comment on the details of their discussions.

The Tuesday meeting, which lasted less than an hour, was held behind closed doors and in the absence of any formal announcement to the press, IRNA reported, citing its correspondent in New York.

Washington and its European allies seek to impose an international ban on new investments in Iran’s energy sector as well as restrictions on its shipping and finance industries.

Western diplomats say the six powers, which include the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1), plan to continue their negotiations on a daily basis until they reach an agreement.

China and Russia have so far been reluctant to agree with the punitive measures.

The Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to give up uranium enrichment.

The west accuses Iran of intending to build a bomb under the guise of a civilian nuclear program.

Tehran says however that its nuclear activities are peaceful, insisting that it is fully entitled to carry out its own nuclear enrichment under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to which it is a signatory.