The G-8 foreign ministers have called for stepped up pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear programme. In a briefing at the end of a two-day meeting in Ottawa yesterday, the Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said the G-8 ministers agreed to remain open to dialogue with Iran. The meeting strongly urged Iran to cooperate with five permanent Security Council members plus Germany on the issue. Meanwhile, in Washington, US President Barack Obama and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy hoped for imposition of new international nuclear sanctions on Iran within weeks.