NEW YORK — The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany have offered Iran another chance to enter negotiations over its suspect nuclear program, seeking a quick resolution to the long-running dispute.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and the foreign ministers of Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia met on Wednesday to try to find a solution to the deadlock. They urged Iran to come to the table for a new round of talks, and said it remained essential for Iran to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iran has defied several rounds of increasingly restrictive economic sanctions aimed at compelling Tehran to prove it is not building a nuclear weapons program. Iran adamantly denies accusations from the U.S. and its allies that it seeks atomic arms.