Iran, U.S. Meet For Four Hours Before Nuclear Talks Move To Brussels

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif pose for a photograph before resuming talks over Iran's nuclear programme in Lausanne

 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif held four hours of nuclear talks on Monday in the Swiss city of Lausanne before the Iranian delegation headed to Brussels for meetings with European ministers. Reuters report:

“We’re obviously in crunch time right now, and the next couple of days leading up to this weekend will be key,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told CNN from Washington. “We fully expect we will take to the end of the month to determine if we can get to an agreement that both sides can live by.”

Six world powers – the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China – are trying to reach a framework agreement with Iran by the end of the month that would curb Tehran’s most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years in exchange for the gradual easing of some sanctions.

The parties have set a June 30 deadline to finalize an accord.

The meeting between Kerry and Zarif included U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, who also met on Sunday to negotiate technical details of Iran’s nuclear program. “I’m very optimistic,” Salehi told reporters afterwards, leaving Zarif and Kerry in the room for a one-on-one meeting.