Kerry, in Geneva to push nuclear talks with Iran, says important gaps remain

U.S. officials were closed-mouthed Friday night about the status of a possible international deal over Iran's disputed nuclear program, following a five-hour meeting here between Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif."We continued to make progress as we worked to narrow the gaps. There is more work to do," a senior State Department official said of the session, which extended nearly until midnight. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the diplomatic talks, said "the meetings will resume" Saturday morning.Kerry was joined in Geneva by his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany,alligator shear which are also participating in the negotiations that began Thursday and were variously reported to be near agreement or hung up over what Kerry called "some very important issues .?.?. that are unresolved."

The expected arrival here Saturday of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China's foreign minister or his deputy fueled optimism that the presence of a full complement of top diplomats from the six countries negotiating with Iran was the prelude to the announcement of a deal."Tomorrow we expect to attain a long-standing result that the whole world hopes for," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Ria Novosti news agency.A senior member of Iran's negotiating team, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi, told reporters that "the text of the draft agreement has been prepared and initial negotiations" would take place in the Kerry-Zarif meeting,alligator shear which was also attended by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

But Kerry, at least before his meeting with Zarif, seemed far less certain. "There is not an agreement," he said on arrival in Geneva. Kerry said he and his colleagues were here to help "narrow some differences" rather than to finalize a deal.An agreement was described by U.S. officials as a "first step" in a comprehensive pact restricting Tehran's ability to seek atomic weapons.Differences remained over the key issues of how much the United States and its negotiating partners were prepared to ease sanctions to provide Iran's failing economy with cash,skin analyzer and the extent to which Iran was willing to freeze its reactor and uranium-enrichment programs.

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