Tehran pressed by allies

VIENNA - Reuters

China and Russia joined yesterday four Western powers, the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, in pressing Iran to cooperate with a stalled investigation by the U.N. nuclear agency into suspected atomic research by the Islamic Republic.

In a joint statement intended to signal their unity in the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, the six powers said they were “deeply concerned” about the country’s atomic activities. Iran denies having any nuclear weapons agenda.

But, like previous such diplomatic initiatives, it looked unlikely to have any immediate impact in softening Iran’s defiance in the face of increasing international pressure to make it curb activity with both civilian and military uses. “We are deeply concerned that Iran continues to undertake certain nuclear activities contrary” to U.N. Security Council and IAEA board resolutions,” the powers said in the text.