Obama, Russia's Medvedev discuss Iran sanctions

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev agreed on Thursday to instruct their negotiators to intensify efforts toward new U.N. sanctions against Iran, the White House said.

A White House statement said the two presidents, in a phone call, discussed the "good progress" being made by major world powers toward agreement on a new round of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

They "agreed to instruct their negotiators to intensify their efforts to reach conclusion as soon as possible," the statement said. AGENCIES