WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters): Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Iran's foreign minister and the European Union foreign policy chief in Oman on Nov. 9-10 to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue ahead of a looming deadline for a final agreement, the U.S. State Department said on Friday.
Kerry's talks in Muscat, Oman with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the EU's Catherine Ashton are due to take place two weeks before a Nov. 24 deadline for Tehran and six major powers to reach a long-term agreement on Iran's nuclear program.
The high-level gathering is one of series of meetings in the final weeks before the deadline. Before heading to Oman Ashton will meet senior foreign ministry officials from the six powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States in Vienna on Nov. 7, Ashton's spokesman Michael Mann said.
The six will then begin meeting again with the full Iranian delegation in Vienna on November 18, he added. EU coordinates the negotiations on behalf of the six powers.
"The aim of the talks is to reach a comprehensive agreement with Iran by Nov. 24, under which it would reassure the international community about the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program," Mann said in a statement.
Last week the top U.S. negotiator in the Iran talks, Under-Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, said Iran will be widely seen as responsible if a comprehensive deal to curb its nuclear program is not reached.
Both sides say they still aim to meet the Nov. 24 deadline for a deal, despite doubts among many experts that they can reach an accord that would end a decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear program with just a few weeks remaining.
Kerry, Iran minister to meet ahead of deadline for nuclear deal
FE Team | Published: November 02, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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