During talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul last month, world powers failed to persuade Iran to take steps to ease suspicions over its nuclear program as the defiant Islamic republic insisted on uranium enrichment.

"For the immediate future, one thing we will be doing with our partners is look at the scope for strengthening sanctions. We're not talking about the UN here," a Western diplomat told reporters on the condition of anonymity.

"We're talking more about coordinating national measures. We're at the early stages of that. But the obvious areas are in the financial sanctions area, number one, and number two, in the oil and gas sector," the diplomat said.

"That's what we're going to be looking at in the weeks ahead," the envoy said without identifying which countries would discuss the additional measures.

After the UN Security Council imposed a fourth set of sanctions against Iran in June last year, the United States also imposed unilateral punitive measures against the Islamic Republic.

Similar steps were taken by the European Union, Canada, Australia and Japan but they were opposed by Russia and China, now Iran's closest trading partner.

Russia and China had, however, endorsed the UN sanctions imposed in June.

UN Security Council permanent members Russia, China, the United States, Britain and France -- plus Germany -- are the world powers leading the drive to halt Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

Two days of talks in Istanbul between Iran and the six powers ended January 22 without progress and no new meeting was scheduled to tackle concerns that Tehran is secretly developing an atomic bomb.

Iran denies the charge, saying its program is purely for peaceful purposes.

earlier related report
Briton vows to appeal US extradition over Iran claims
London (AFP) Feb 11, 2011 - A judge ruled Friday that a retired British businessman can be extradited to the United States on charges of conspiring to sell missile parts to Iran, but the man immediately vowed to appeal.

Christopher Tappin, 64, denies attempting to sell batteries for surface-to-air missiles, which were to be shipped from the United States to Tehran via the Netherlands.

He says he was unaware that batteries he sourced in the United States were destined for Iran, and says he was caught up in a US customs sting.

Tappin has fought a long battle against extradition to the United States, where he could face 35 years in jail, and said Friday that he would not give up.

District Judge John Zani ruled at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London on Friday that the extradition could go ahead, but released Tappin on conditional bail.

Speaking outside the court, Tappin said he would challenge the ruling in the High Court, and accused US agents of acting illegally to entrap him.

"There remains clear evidence of fraud, which they have tried to cover up by implicating myself and others by means of skullduggery and misleading statements," he told reporters.

"I look forward to winning the next round of this intriguing case. I am sure that justice will eventually prevail, preferably British justice."

In his ruling, the judge said there was "ample evidence" that Tappin and his alleged co-conspirators were "willing and apparently enthusiastic participants" in the alleged crime.

"I am not satisfied that this is a case of 'state-created' crime, nor that unlawful entrapment has taken place," he said.

The judge also rejected arguments that Tappin's extradition should be blocked on human rights grounds because his wife has a debilitating illness.

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