High-level U.S. And Iran Nuclear Talks Resume

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a statement at a press conference in London

High-level nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran have resumed in Geneva as both sides work through technical and political differences to come up with an initial deal by a March 31 deadline. Reuters was there:

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.