Iran Foreign Minister says deal close as nuclear talks resume

PanARMENIAN.Net - Senior diplomats from the six countries negotiating with Iran huddled Thursday, April 2, in a morning strategy session meant to advance the pace of agonizingly slow nuclear talks. Iran's Foreign Minister said the sides were close to a preliminary agreement, but not yet there, the Associated Press reports.

The talks resumed several hours after a flurry of marathon overnight sessions between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as well as other meetings among the six powers negotiating to curb Iranian nuclear programs that could be used to make weapons. Iran denies any interest in such arms and wants a deal that will quickly lift economic sanctions stifling its economy.

Two days after busting through a March 31 deadline, the negotiators hope to leave the Swiss city of Lausanne with at least a text outlining general political commitments to resolve concerns about Iran's nuclear program, and the pace of lifting sanctions. They are also trying to fashion more detailed documents on the steps they must take by June 30 to meet those goals.

As he headed to his own meeting Thursday, Zarif said the talks had made "significant progress." But he said drafts still had to be written. Reaching both agreement in Lausanne as well as a June final deal will be "a difficult job," he said.

One problem, said Zarif, was differing voices among the other side at the table — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — making it difficult for them "to reach a coordination."

The talks — the latest in more than a decade of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear prowess — hit the weeklong mark on Thursday, shortly before the State Department announced they would go into double overtime from the March 31 deadline.

As the sides bore down on efforts to get a deal, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier cancelled a planned visit to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was also back, less than a day after leaving the city.