Iran’s Zarif, U.S.’s Kerry focus on nuclear talks
By Sara Rajabova
The Iranian and U.S. foreign policy heads have discussed key issues in New York on September 21.
Tehran's nuclear energy program was one of the main topics of the discussion between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
The meeting between the two senior officials, which was held at a hotel on Sunday, came on the third day of the latest round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group.
A senior State Department official said after the meeting that Zarif and Kerry discussed both the progress that has been made and the work that still needs to be done.
Kerry "noted that this week is an opportunity to make additional progress and stressed that it is our intention to do so," he added.
The latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the six countries - Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France and Germany -- started at the UN headquarters in New York on September 19.
The Iranian delegation is headed by Zarif and the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, leads the other party.
The two sides signed a historic interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, last November. The agreement came into force on January 20 and expired six months later. In July, they agreed to extend the negotiations until November 24.
The talks have been stalled for months over Iran's opposition to sharply reducing the size and output of centrifuges that can enrich uranium both to levels needed for reactor fuel or the core of nuclear warheads. Iran says its enrichment program is only for peaceful purposes, but Washington fears it could be used to make a bomb. Tehran says any deal must put an end to the sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.
Zarif and Kerry also discussed the threat posed by the ISIL terrorist group, which currently control parts of Syria and Iraq.
The State Department official further noted that the two high-ranking diplomats "agreed to meet further as needed while in New York."
The Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are reportedly supporting the militants operating inside Syria and Iraq.