US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Geneva on Friday in an effort to help secure a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, a senior US State Department official said.
“Secretary Kerry will travel to Geneva, Switzerland on Friday at the invitation of EU High Representative (Catherine) Ashton in an effort to help narrow differences in negotiations,” the official said.
Diplomats in Geneva said work on a possible deal aimed at ending a decade-long nuclear standoff between Iran and the West was continuing. Iranian officials said on Thursday that they were cautiously optimistic about prospects for an agreement but noted that nothing had been finalized.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said on Thursday the international community could slightly ease sanctions against Iran in the early stages of negotiating a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“There is the possibility of a phased agreement in which the first phase would be us, you know, halting any advances on their nuclear program … and putting in place a way where we can provide them some very modest relief, but keeping the sanctions architecture in place,” he said in an interview with NBC News.
Sanctions could be tightened if Iran failed to follow through on commitments, he said.
Iran and six world powers were closing in on a long-elusive deal on Friday aimed at allaying international fears about Tehran’s atomic aims and reducing the risk of a new war in the volatile Middle East, Reuters informs.
