Iran nuclear talks set to resume next week

Iranian envoys are set to leave nuclear negotiations in Switzerland later on Friday after final consultations this afternoon with US secretary of state John Kerry, with talks between the sides to resume next week.

The Iranian diplomats will return home to attend the funeral of the mother of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, who died on Friday, an Iranian official said, asking not to be named following diplomatic rules.

Hossein Fereydoun, Mr Rouhani's brother, who is part of the Iranian negotiating team, has already left Lausanne where six days of meetings have been held.

European Union foreign ministers, who originally planned to attend talks on the shores of Lake Geneva in Lausanne, will meet Mr Kerry in Europe on Saturday, said State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf.

Work to do

The multiparty talks will resume next week, she said. Kerry and Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday said that although they've made progress, significant technical hurdles still separate them.

Diplomats have until the end of this month to reach a framework agreement. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said the length of an agreement, the pace of sanctions relief and international monitoring remain points of contention.

Any draft of a final agreement would not be circulated until closer to the June 30th deadline for technical annexes, he said.

Among the enticements offered to Iran, world powers have vowed to lift US and European oil sanctions within months of signing an agreement if the Islamic Republic accepts strict limits and intrusive inspections on its nuclear program for at least a decade, according to US and European officials who asked not to be named

Bloomberg