Reuters, Geneva :
High-level nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran resumed in Geneva on Monday as both sides work through technical and political differences to come up with an initial deal by a March 31 deadline.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as well as U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Iran’s atomic nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi met for a second day following a two-hour meeting on Sunday.
“Both sides are determined to resolve the remaining issues,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
“Gaps still remain and the negotiators are trying hard to reach a common point,” the official said, describing the atmosphere as “good but very serious”.
A senior State Department official said the session would cover “virtually every topic”.
Few details of the negotiations have emerged, but the approaching deadline has caused divisions between the United States and one of its closest allies, Israel, which has called the talks “dangerous” and “astonishing”. The United States has accused it of distorting Washington’s position.
Helga Schmid, political director of the European Union’s External Action Service, was also at the table for the Kerry-Zarif meeting on Monday.
The United States and five other major powers – Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – are seeking to negotiate an agreement with Tehran to end a 12-year standoff over its nuclear ambitions. Iran says it does not intend to develop atomic bombs.
A deal would offer Iran relief from economic sanctions.
High-level nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran resumed in Geneva on Monday as both sides work through technical and political differences to come up with an initial deal by a March 31 deadline.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as well as U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Iran’s atomic nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi met for a second day following a two-hour meeting on Sunday.
“Both sides are determined to resolve the remaining issues,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
“Gaps still remain and the negotiators are trying hard to reach a common point,” the official said, describing the atmosphere as “good but very serious”.
A senior State Department official said the session would cover “virtually every topic”.
Few details of the negotiations have emerged, but the approaching deadline has caused divisions between the United States and one of its closest allies, Israel, which has called the talks “dangerous” and “astonishing”. The United States has accused it of distorting Washington’s position.
Helga Schmid, political director of the European Union’s External Action Service, was also at the table for the Kerry-Zarif meeting on Monday.
The United States and five other major powers – Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – are seeking to negotiate an agreement with Tehran to end a 12-year standoff over its nuclear ambitions. Iran says it does not intend to develop atomic bombs.
A deal would offer Iran relief from economic sanctions.
