A top US diplomat said envoys from five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany discussed sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, but failed to reach agreement on how to proceed.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov today said a deal with Iran on its uranium enrichment programme was still possible before next week’s meeting of the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

A top Russian diplomat today said it would be possible to create a joint venture to enrich uranium for Iran in Russia only if Tehran resumed its moratorium on enrichment activities, the Interfax news agency reported.