Iran nuclear talks resume in Vienna

On Friday, the Vienna talks over curbing Iran's nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions resumed after a hiatus of several hours.

"[Secretary of state John] Kerry has delayed his departure from Vienna, Austria in order to continue consultations," US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement to reporters, adding the secretary would stay overnight.

The talks had come to a halt in the afternoon (CET) as chief negotiators, including Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, appeared to depart for further consultations prior to a self-imposed deadline of Monday, November 24th.

The ministers' change of plans raised hopes for forward movement in the high-level talks.

According to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, Zarif's decision to stay on was prompted by new proposals from his US counterpart apt to bridge the differences between the two sides. IRNA also quoted an unnamed Iranian diplomat who said those proposals were not of a nature that would call for Zarif's immediate return to Tehran.

12 years of diplomacy

In Vienna, the "group of six" (Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US) and Iran have met in order to overcome considerable differences in their ongoing negotiations about the quantity of uranium Iran will be allowed to enrich and about how fast sanctions against the country will be scrapped. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iran nuclear issue and keep its ability to produce atomic weapons at bay have been going on for twelve years.

Tehran's leaders have always denied that they strive for nuclear weapons, saying their atomic program is designed to provide electricity and medical advances.

Still on schedule?

Diplomatic circles have suggested that negotiators may agree on a general framework, leaving details to be worked out at a later stage. Alternatively, talks may have to continue beyond the deadline. British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond pointed out on Friday that the "group of six" intended to "get the key principles of a deal agreed" by Monday's deadline.

A failure of the Vienna talks would not be in the interest of either side. US President Barack Obama badly needs to score points in a foreign policy area, and Iranian President Hassan Rowhani's efforts to remove Iran's pariah status in the international community would suffer a severe setback.

ws/msh (AFP, dpa, AP, Reuters)