Iran nuclear talks to intensify

Iran and world powers begin a new round of nuclear talks Tuesday hoping to make enough progress to move up a gear and start drafting a historic final deal next month. This will however require Iran and the five UN Security Council permanent members plus Germany to delve ever deeper into issues that will severely test their willingness to give ground. Both sides want to transform an interim deal struck in November by foreign ministers in Geneva into a permanent agreement by the time this temporary accord lapses on July 20. So far the mood music has been good, with the powers' chief negotiator, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, hailing the last monthly round in mid-March as "substantive and useful," according to AFP.