The United States said on Friday that the differences among major UN countries on the resolution to sanction Iran are narrowing.

"The sense is the differences are narrowing," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a briefing.

McCormack made the remarks after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met and discussed the issue with Igor Ivanov, Russian representative to the United Nations.

"Mr. Ivanov made it very clear that we are all in this process together," McCormack said.

"We remain hopeful that, in the near future, we will be able to get a resolution that everybody can vote for, that we will be able to maintain unity on the Security Council," McCormack said.

McCormack said that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany will resume talks on the Iran resolution next week.

The United States has been seeking to impose sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council on the grounds that the Islamic country develops a nuclear weapon program under the cover of a civilian program. However, Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Iran has said it wants talks with Europe, Russia, China and the United States but it will not suspend its nuclear work in advance.

Source: Xinhua