TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- The United States and five other powers failed again to reach agreement Thursday on tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
"We continue to have some tactical differences about the timing, but more than that, about how deep this (UN) resolution should go," Rice said in an interview with AFP after senior diplomats from the six powers consulted Thursday.
The United States has been involved in difficult talks with Russia, China, Britain and France - the five permanent UN Security Council members, or P5, that all have veto power - and Germany for another UN resolution against Iran.
Washington is promoting a two-track strategy aimed at offering Iran a dialogue that would give it economic benefits if it stops enriching uranium, or at threatening a third round of sanctions.
The political directors of the State Department and the foreign ministries of the five other countries did not reach agreement during a conference call Thursday.
The political directors of the six countries held a 90-minute conference call on December 11 about Iran's nuclear program, but did not finalize a draft sanctions resolution.
Rice admitted afterward that the United States has "tactical differences" with Russia and China about the "timing, about the nature of any further sanctions."
But she said that "the two-track strategy remains in place," when asked if the US National Intelligence Estimate, published December 3, undercut the US drive for sanctions.
The report said Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program substantiating Iran's claims about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and activities.
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