Speaking in Moscow, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said it is still too early for additional sanctions against Iran. Her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said more sanctions would be counterproductive at this time. Ms Clinton and Mr Lavrov met to discuss Iran's nuclear programme.

Western countries suspect Iran is secretly working on the production of nuclear weapons. Tehran denies these allegations, and says its nuclear programme is intended for civilian purposes only.

The two foreign ministers also discussed a new treaty to succeed the 1991 US-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty which expires in December.