World Power Meeting Yields No Breakthrough on Iran Nuclear Issue

World powers met in France on Thursday to address Iran's nuclear program, but there was no breakthrough in strategy.

Representatives from Germany and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - discussed ways to discourage Iran from enriching uranium, during talks in Paris.

U.S. State Department Spokesman Robert Wood said the meeting allowed participants to review the current situation and discuss the way ahead. A statement released late Thursday said the six world powers will pursue their consultations on next steps in the upcoming weeks.

Western nations believe Iran may be seeking nuclear weapons, but Iran says its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes.

The meeting comes a day after Iran said it test-fired a new generation missile, the Sejil, capable of striking Israel and southeastern Europe with greater precision.

The United States condemned the test as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

In a separate development, South Korea's foreign minister, Yu Myung-Hwan, has called on Iran to restore international confidence in its nuclear activities, following talks with his Iranian counterpart in Seoul on Thursday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the South Korean official that Tehran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Also on Thursday, a report by the Institute for Science and International Security says satellite imagery shows that Iran is continuing with its construction of a heavy water reactor at Arak. The Washington-based group says, when completed and working at full speed, the reactor could produce enough plutonium for about two nuclear weapons each year.