No Decisions by Major Powers on Iran

The six major powers met in New York on Saturday to discuss further UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The talks were inconclusive as the group made no decisions, with China opposing new sanctions for now. The group’s diplomats agreed to consult again by telephone before the end of the month on the next step.

The Group 5+1 (the five permanent members of UN Security Council plus Germany) have been pursuing a “dual track” policy in reaching a negotiated settlement with Iran, but imposing further sanctions if the efforts failed.

China also snubbed the gathering by dispatching a low ranking representative to a meeting attended by senior diplomats. Russia favored sanctions apparently after its efforts to end the standoff by swapping and reprocessing Iranian uranium was rebuffed by Iran.

UPDATE: Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast mocked major powers’ failure to impose new sanctions on Iran as “natural.”

"The failure of the 5+1 meeting is natural," Mehmanparast said. "Some nations like China do not believe that the negative approaches, sanctions, threats and politically driven methods can bear any fruit."