Countries fail to agree on Iran sanctions

A TOP US diplomat said yesterday that most of the UN Security Council's permanent members and the Group of Eight support possible sanctions against Iran in the dispute over that country's nuclear programme.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns also said the United States has not given up on efforts to resolve the dispute through diplomacy. Earlier this week, President George W Bush said "all options are on the table" - including the military option - to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons.

"Nearly every country is considering some sort of sanctions and that's new," Mr Burns said after two days of meetings in Moscow.